Leslie Frazier was on the wrong end of Black Monday. The Minnesota Vikings head coach has officially been fired just one season after taking the team to the NFC Wild Card game. The impressive playoff run was followed by a 5-10-1 season as the Vikings fell apart thanks to injuries and poor quarterback play. Despite getting support from some of the team's most marquee members, Frazier's time is up in Minnesota.
Frazier finished his three-year tenure going 21-32-1 with the team. Despite getting them to a playoff appearance, Frazier will be remember for the unstable offense as Christian Ponder, Josh Freeman and Matt Cassel all tried their hands at playing quarterback this year. General manager Rick Spielman announced the move over Twitter.
"Unfortunately, we did not achieve consistent success and did not achieve the progress we expected," Spielman said in a statement. "We believe a coaching change is needed to help build a successful team moving forward."
Adrian Peterson is likely waking up disappointed to the news. The reigning NFL MVP told reporters last week that he would be lobbying for the return of Frazier. The running back was in full support of the head coach, believing that the disappointing season fell more on the players than the coaching staff.
"I'm definitely not an individual that's looking for dramatic change," Peterson said, via TwinCities.com. "So, yeah, it would hurt if Frazier leaves.I try to say what I have to say. There's a time and place for everything. And with the season (winding down), that time is coming. I'm going to give my input and see what they have to say and go from there. ... Right now, I'm just trying to focus on finishing the season strong, with Detroit. And then that's when I'm sure things will get rolling, and we'll see what's going to go down."
Wide receiver Greg Jennings echoed the words of his teammate, telling the media that he loved playing for Frazier and fully supported the future of the head coach. Jennings noted the NFL was at first a business and all decisions were out of his hands, but he wanted Frazier back in 2014.
So where does Minnesota go from here? CBS Sports' Bruce Feldman reported the Vikings were likely going to go after a successful college coach. Bill O'Brien was on the team's radar, but NFL sources suggest the Houston Texans are finalizing a deal with the current Penn State coach. Baylor's Art Briles is a favorite to make the jump, but the Redskins will likely try and go after him first. Stanford's David Shaw or UCLA's Jim Mora could also be targets if the Vikings take that route.
