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Tag: Leslie Frazier

  • Mike Zimmer Hired As Coach Of Minnesota Vikings

    The NFL teams that struggled over the 2013 season continue to search for new coaches, and the Minnesota Vikings have already found someone to lead their team in 2014.

    The Vikings struggled throughout the past season, and finished in last place in the NFC North, with a record of 5-10-1.

    Whether they will be able to improve at all in 2014 is unclear, but they could be on the right track after hiring Mike Zimmer as their new head coach.

    It can be hard for any team to start the rebuilding stage, and the Minnesota Vikings are certainly in need of rebuilding with Adrian Peterson being virtually their only strength on offense.

    Another team in the NFC North, the Detroit Lions, also hired a new coach yesterday with Jim Caldwell, who was currently serving as the offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens.

    Unlike the Vikings, the Lions have several talented players, but were unable to work with the current staff, and as a result, Jim Schwartz was fired after being put on the hot seat.

    In other NFL coaching news, Ken Whisenhunt was also hired as the coach of the Tennessee Titans yesterday, preventing the Lions from continuing to pursue him, and hire Caldwell instead.

    If anyone is able to turn around the Vikings franchise, and get them to be a powerhouse in the NFC again, then Mike Zimmer might be the guy to do it. He is a longtime defensive coordinator for the Cinncinatti Bengals, and is also one of the more respected assistants in the NFL.

    Zimmer will replace Leslie Frazier, who led the Vikings to another disappointing season, and what the Vikings truly need is a franchise quarterback who is able to lead them. Frazier was fired along with Jim Schwartz and a handful of other coaches during the black Monday firings.

    Mike Zimmer is also the son of Bill Zimmer, a former defensive assistant with the Kansas City Chiefs. Before joining the Bengals, he had led the defense of the Dallas Cowboys from 2000 through 2006 after spending 1994 through 1999 as the team’s defensive backs coach.

    As coach of the Minnesota Vikings, Mike Zimmer will be forced to rebuild the team on both sides of the ball, and work to recruit a quarterback that the team can trust in a division, and league that is continually relying on the quarterback to control the team.

    Coming in as a defensive coordinator, he will also need to improve the defense of the Vikings, after being the defense that gave up more points than other team in the NFL last season.

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  • Black Monday Brings Bad News For 5 NFL Coaches

    With the end of the NFL regular season comes the dreaded Black Monday. Which coaches will get the call that their services are no longer needed? Will certain star college coaches be given a chance to step up to the elite level that is the National Football League? Or will the canned coaches, with their less than stellar performances, simply be shuffled around to different teams? The likely scenario is a combination of the two.

    The 2013 season’s Black Monday said goodbye to five head coaches: Washington’s Mike Shanahan, Minnesota’s Leslie Frazier, Tampa Bay’s Greg Schiano, Detroit’s Jim Schwartz and Cleveland’s Rob Chudzinski. The Houston Texans didn’t wait until Monday to fire their head coach; they released Gary Kubiak late in the season. The only silver lining for the Texans horrible season is that their 2-14 record buys them the top pick in the upcoming draft.

    Most of the firings came as no surprise to the public as the combined record of all six teams seeking to fill their head coaching spots are a whopping 24-71-1. Cleveland’s choice however did come as a shock to their now former coach, Rob Chudzinski, who said “I was shocked and disappointed to hear the news that I was fired. I am a Cleveland Brown to the core, and always will be. It was an honor to lead our players and coaches, and I appreciate their dedication and sacrifice. I was more excited than ever for this team, as I know we were building a great foundation for future success.” Unfortunately for him, any future success of the Browns won’t be attributed to his coaching.

    It seems there are several factors that come into play during the decision making process of “fire or hire.” The most obvious – the record. If your team is 2-14 two years in a row, the chances of you keeping your job are slim to none. Interestingly enough, the quarterbacks on all six teams turned in less than stellar performances during the 2013 season. This begs the question:

    If the QB tanks, is that a sign that the coach will get fired?

    Quite possibly. Unfortunately many coaches don’t have the luxury of choosing their QB – they inherit them. Which leads me to my next question.

    Are the owners not setting up their new coaches for failure when they dump a team with a dud of a QB into your lap and expect an immediate turnaround?

    With salary caps and the constant onslaught of injuries, replacing that dud of a quarterback is easier said than done. Granted, a team CAN make it to the big game without a decent QB at the helm – as long as other facets of the team dynamic steps up. The 2010 Chicago Bears might as well of had their all-star middle linebacker Brian Urlacher at the QB spot instead of Rex Grossman, or Kyle Orton, or Grossman – it was hard to keep it straight. As the leader of the Bears defense, Urlacher and crew (with some help from rookie Devin Hester on special teams) dominated the field. Not only did they keep their opponents scoring at bay, they forced turnovers and scored on interceptions. All while Orton/Grossman rode the pine pony saying “thank you, thank you, thank you” under their breath. My father always said, “Offense wins games, but defense wins championships.” You can’t lose if the score is 0-0. Perhaps the six canned coaches could take a lesson from that ideology and focus more on their defense in their next coaching gig – instead of lament about their shortcomings in the QB spot or injuries or salary caps. Work with what you’ve got.

    But, in a billion dollar business that loves its show and flash, fans want to see something spectacular. They want to see Peyton break the all time passing TD record. They want to see Rodgers run it in, avoiding the likes of DeAndre Levy or Ray Lewis. And the coaches know that.

    So in this crazy world of million dollar salaries and divas for players the coaches take the brunt of it all. Either show up, or pack up. We may give you an awful team, less than enthusiastic coaching staff and fans who expect you to be a miracle worker but gosh darn it you’ve got two seasons to turn this club around or you’ll be out a job come game 16. But hey, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Just look at Andy Reid.

    Image provided by Wikimedia Commons

  • NFL Coaches Fired: 5 Gone So Far on ‘Black Monday’

    ‘Tis the season for NFL Coach firings.

    It’s going to be a rude awakening on New Year’s Day for at least five coaches who have been fired less than a day after the NFL’s regular season ended.

    The first to go was Cleveland Browns coach Rob Chudzinski who was fired Sunday night after only one season.

    Monday was unemployment day for Washington Redskin’s Mike Shanahan, Detroit Lion’s Jim Schwartz, Minnesota Vikings’ Leslie Frazier and Tampa Bay Buccaneer’s Greg Schiano.

    Shanahan coached for four seasons with the Redskins, with a 24-40 record; Frazier for three seasons with the Vikings with an 18-33-1 record and Schwartz five seasons with the Lions with a 29-52 record.

    Schiano, fired with three years and $9 million left on his contract, coached for two years with the Buccaneers with an 11-21 record.

    “It’s tough for the players to see your coaches go. You never want to see anybody get fired,” Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said. “Me personally, I haven’t had any, consistently, in my career. Third head coach, going on my fifth year and three head coaches. Add up everybody, it’ll be six D-line coaches.”

    Chudzinski was very surprised when the pink slip came.

    “I was shocked and disappointed to hear the news that I was fired,” said Chudzinski. “I am a Cleveland Brown to the core, and always will be. It was an honor to lead our players and coaches, and I appreciate their dedication and sacrifice. I was more excited than ever for this team, as I know we were building a great foundation for future success.”

    Shanahan was fired with only one season remaining on a five-year, $35 million contract. He blames a salary cap and a bad relationship with quarterback Robert Griffin III for the poor results.

    Frazier managed to get the Vikings to the playoffs as a wild card last season. Issues with finding a steady quarterback and a weak defense led to his firing.

    “It’s a harsh business,” safety Harrison Smith said. “As a player, we all love coach Frazier, as a coach, as a man. You can’t meet a better guy. And also as a player, we didn’t make enough plays on the field. So you just feel like you let him down a little bit.”

    Schwartz had two years and almost $12 million remaining on his contract when fired.

    “From where we were in 2008 to where we are now it’s a big difference,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “We owe a lot of that to him. He’s a really smart guy and helped us get to where we are. Obviously, we didn’t win as many games as we needed to or as we should have this year.”

    Image vie Wikimedia

  • Leslie Frazier Fired From Vikings

    Leslie Frazier Fired From Vikings

    The Minnesota Vikings have fired their head coach Leslie Frazier. Frazier was fired on Monday, one year after he took the team to the playoffs, and just a day after they finished a 5-10-1 season.

    “We have tremendous respect and appreciation for Leslie and what he has done for the Minnesota Vikings,” Vikings owner Zygi Wilf said in a statement. “He stepped in and established a strong positive culture here and he has been the consummate professional as our head coach and in this community. Making this change is difficult, but what we determined is best for the organization.”

    The Vikings general manager Rick Spielman also commented on Frazier leaving the team. “Unfortunately, we did not achieve consistent success and did not achieve the progress we expected,” Spielman said. “We believe a coaching change is needed to help build a successful team moving forward.”

    Frazier took the news of his impending firing well, and said that he is just thankful for the time he had with the team. “I’m just thankful for the support that I’ve received for my time here both as a coordinator and a head coach,” Frazier said. “Going to Mankato and being around the fans in a personable way, and then being at the Dome yesterday when Mall of America Field, the last game was ever played. The fans have been very, very good to me, and I’m thankful for my time here in Minnesota, it’s good.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons