Leslie Frazier ready for second stint as head coach, hopes for opportunity to be ‘a part of this hiring cycle’

After taking a nearly year-long sabbatical from coaching, Leslie Frazier is ready for his second opportunity as a head coach in the NFL.

In a phone interview with CBS Sports Friday, the former Vikings head coach said he’s been preparing the last several months to interview for a head-coaching job this month, with anywhere between six and eight jobs coming open in the next week or so.

“I want to be able to be a part of this hiring cycle. I would love to be able to interview with an owner or organization for one of the head coach vacancies,” Frazier said. “And I’m basing it on my past experience as a head coach who took a team to the playoffs, the success I’ve had in the NFL as a coordinator. And hope that would warrant me that opportunity. That’s the goal, that’s my hope, that I’ll be included in this cycle and have a chance to interview with one of the organizations that has an opportunity.”

Frazier, 64, stepped back from coaching at the conclusion of the 2022 season. He had been the Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator since 2017. In 2021, he led the Bills’ unit to the top spot in both yards and points allowed. In 2022, the Bills were second in points allowed and sixth in yards.

Between 2019-2022, Bills allowed the fewest points of all teams and second-fewest yards.

But the defensive success didn’t lead to a head-coaching position for Frazier. He interviewed with the Colts, Texans and Bears in recent years, but he didn’t get a single interview in the last cycle.

Since stepping back, Frazier has worked with NFL Network and The 33rd Team to stay connected to the game and expand when it comes to analytics. He said he’s also been Zooming with coaches about game-planning for specific teams over the past few months.

“It’s forced me to broaden my horizons a little bit,” Frazier said, “looking at the league from a global standpoint as opposed to just a team that I’m on and just the opponent that we’re getting prepared for. It’s forced me to see the league in its entirety and it’s helped me to get more involved in some of the angles that allow you to win.”

Frazier went 3-3 as the interim coach of the Vikings in 2010 before earning the job on a permanent basis that offseason. He went 18-29-1 as the permanent coach in Minnesota between 2011-2013, and he got the Vikings to the playoffs in the 2012 season where they lost in the wild-card round with backup quarterback Joe Webb.

Though he’s not opposed to continuing his coaching career as a defensive coordinator, Frazier says his focus now is on securing an interview for a head-coaching job and proving what he’s learned in the decade since he last was at the helm.

“My maturity as a coach and growth as a coach is far different because of the experiences I’ve had over the last 10 years, and I think each one of those experiences has helped to prepare me to be a better head coach in this second opportunity,” Frazier said. “Just understanding the importance of constructing a strong staff, which is something I didn’t have the opportunity to do when I was an interim head coach.

“There’s no doubt in my mind because of the things that have transpired over the last 10 years, and the things that I’ve seen and experienced, that I’ll be a better head coach the second time around — for sure.”