The Seattle Seahawks list 23 on-field coaches (23!) on their website, a staff constructed by new head coach Mike Macdonald in a whirlwind process after he replaced Pete Carroll. Twelve of those assistants have fewer than five years of NFL experience and Macdonald will employ three first-time coordinators.
Enter Leslie Frazier.
Eight years after they worked together in Baltimore, Macdonald hired Frazier as the Seahawks’ assistant head coach on Feb. 2.
What an asset for Macdonald to have at his disposal because Frazier checks four major boxes: Player (65 games for the Chicago Bears), position coach (six years), defensive coordinator (14 years) and head coach (three years). Frazier hasn’t seen everything … but pretty close.
Frazier sat out the 2023 season following his departure as the Bills’ defensive coordinator and did some television work for NFL Network. He remained under contract with the Bills after the sides split.
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“He’s been a tremendous asset, just a guy who’s been through the wars and someone I’ve had a relationship with for a long time so we trust each other,” Macdonald said on Wednesday at the league’s annual meeting in Orlando, Fla. “It’s been a cool relationship to grow over the last six weeks or so and getting to know each other even better and how we operate.”
Being a first-time head coach is like trying to drink water out of a fire hose. Hiring a staff. Creating a rapport with the general manager and scouts. Installing the systems. Forging a culture.
Frazier won the Super Bowl as a player and worked for coaches Andy Reid, Tony Dungy and John Harbaugh, winning a ring with Dungy in 2006. In all, Frazier has 29 years of NFL experience.
Frazier can relate to the players, help a position coach in myriad ways and offer game-plan suggestions to the coordinators. Most of all, he can be a sounding board for Macdonald.
“Les is a wise man,” Macdonald said. “He can see around corners and he has such great relationships with everybody in the league. He was extremely helpful with hiring staff and the guys he recommended. And just to have someone you trust and have as a confidant every day, you can have a bunch of conversations with him every day to make sure you’re on the right track and make the right decisions.”
Quick kicks
1. Players will adjust. There was the usual hue and cry from players (current and former) after owners voted 32-0 to ban the “swivel” hip-drop tackle that has caused multiple injuries to ball carriers. Just stop, guys. The same whining came after the horse-collar and helmet contact rules were instituted and defenders learned how to still make tackles. Competition committee chairman Rich McKay was right to point out how difficult the hip-drop penalty will be to call live, so expect Fine Day (Saturday afternoons) during the season to be monitored for financial punishment.
2. Move over, NBA. The NFL’s decision to play two games on Christmas even though it is on Wednesday this year is another shot at the bow of the NBA, which for years controlled Dec. 25 with as many as five games. Last year’s NFL tripleheader averaged 29.2 million viewers compared to 2.86 million for the NBA. For the four teams scheduled to play on Christmas this year, does the league put them on a Sunday (Dec. 15)-Saturday (Dec. 21)-Wednesday (Dec. 25) calendar? Likely. Chiefs at Bills on Christmas Day anyone?
3. Bills’ free-agent reset. The Bills started March 13 with 18 unrestricted free agents and have re-signed three (running back Ty Johnson, defensive tackle DaQuan Jones and defensive end A.J. Epenesa). Eight players (quarterback Kyle Allen, linebacker Tyrel Dodson, cornerback Dane Jackson, defensive end Leonard Floyd, defensive tackles Poona Ford and Tim Settle, and receivers Gabe Davis and Trent Sherfield) signed with other teams. Running back Damien Harris retired and safety Micah Hyde and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips said after the season they were contemplating retirement. That leaves running back Latavius Murray, defensive end Shaq Lawson, defensive tackle Linval Joseph and linebacker Tyler Matakevich as the lone remaining unsigned players.
4. Bills’ resolution explanation. A recommendation by the Bills about the injury report was passed by the owners. Basically, if an injured player is not traveling to an away game, the team must report the player has been ruled out before the team departs for their trip. Theoretically, that removes an element of needless gamesmanship by listing a player as questionable on the final injury report even though he isn’t on the trip.
5. Initial over-under totals. FanDuel put out its 2024 over-under win figures for NFL teams. The Bills checked in at 10½ , most in the AFC East ahead of Miami/New York Jets (9½) and New England (5½). In the AFC, Baltimore is at 11½ and Cincinnati 10½.