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After making Mike Macdonald the youngest coach in the NFL this week, the Seahawks were expected to add some veteran knowledge to their assistant coaching staff to help him.
That’s exactly what the Seahawks did on Friday by reaching an agreement to hire Leslie Frazier as assistant head coach. At 64, Frazier is not only almost twice the age of Macdonald, 36, but he has also been considered a mentor to him.
A league source confirmed the expected hire to The Seattle Times.
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The Seahawks hire Mike Macdonald.
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Frazier, who is perhaps best known as the Vikings’ coach from 2010 to 2013, was the Ravens’ secondary coach in 2016 when Macdonald was in his third year with Baltimore, serving as a defensive assistant at the time.
Macdonald’s Ravens bio notes: “In 2016, Macdonald worked with Leslie Frazier, helping guide a unit that finished seventh overall (322.1 ypg) and produced a league-leading 18 INTs (interceptions) (tied, KC and SD)”.
NFL insider Josina Anderson of CBS Sports reported that Frazier had four other teams interested in him serving in a similar capacity before deciding to accept the Seahawks’ offer.
When asked why, he told Anderson: “Mike. “Mike was my quality control coach in Baltimore.”
Frazier was Buffalo’s defensive coordinator from 2017 to 2019 and defensive coordinator/assistant head coach from 2020 to 2022. He resigned after the 2022 season and did not coach in 2023, saying he intended to return in 2024.
Frazier had reported interviewing for head coaching vacancies with the Raiders and Chargers last month. He was rumored to be on Miami’s shortlist for defensive coordinator and apparently a few other positions.
Last spring, when it became clear he wouldn’t be on the coaching staff in 2023, Frazier spoke optimistically about getting another chance as a head coach but said he hoped to at least be an assistant in 2024.
“I really feel good where I am. “I think my reasons for walking away were the right ones,” Frazier told SI.com. “I feel good about it. It just gives me a chance to see things from a different perspective, recharge again and re-energize myself.
“…I know I don’t have much time left. I’m at an age where it seems like homeowners are getting younger and younger. But I think I have some things I can contribute. We’ll see what happens.”
Frazier went 21-32-1 as Vikings coach, taking over at the end of the 2010 season on an interim basis and staying permanently.
Frazier was also a defensive coordinator with the Bengals (2003-04) and Tampa Bay (2014-15), having worked solely on the defensive side of the ball, other than when he was head coach, during a career dating back to 1986.
In his final three years as Buffalo’s DC from 2020-22, the Bills ranked fifth, first, and first in fewest points allowed.
Frazier played from 1981 to 1985 with the Chicago Bears, memorably leading the famous 1985 team that won the Super Bowl under Mike Ditka with six interceptions.
He suffered a knee injury on a punt return in Chicago’s 46-10 victory over the Patriots in Super Bowl XX that led to the end of his playing career.
A league source said Frazier will come to Seattle as an assistant head coach and not a defensive coordinator.
Macdonald said during his introductory news conference Thursday that he intends to continue calling defensive plays on game days.
“Yes, right now the plan is for me to call the plays,” he said. “Now, depending on who the defensive coordinator is and when they become, ultimately, I’m the head coach of the football team, so I want to coach the football team. Right now, in my opinion, the best way to win is for me to call the plays, and then when it’s obvious that someone else is ready to play and we see it the same way, then we’ll make that change. “
Macdonald said Thursday that within minutes of it becoming official Wednesday that he would become the Seahawks’ coach, “we (he and general manager John Schneider) literally went upstairs and got to work staffing staff”.
The Seahawks are expected to retain Karl Scott, who served the past two seasons as defensive passing game coordinator.
Among Macdonald’s other priorities is hiring an offensive coordinator. A source confirmed Thursday that former University of Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb is under consideration for that position. Detroit passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand is also reportedly being considered for that role.