Leslie Frazier's history as a defensive coordinator

Seahawks DBs like Devon Witherspoon better start preparing their interception celebration dances with Leslie Frazier in the house: Seaside Joe 1956

The Seattle Seahawks do not make a change at head coach very often. It has only happened three times since hiring Mike Holmgren in 1999 and he took Seattle to the AFC playoffs that year—which by the way also happened to be the last time the Buffalo Bills would make the playoffs for almost 20 years.

In ‘99, the Bills had a dominant defense under head coach Wade Phillips, ranking second in points allowed and going 11-5, but then losing in the wild card round to the Titans on one of the most famous endings in NFL history. Among Buffalo’s defensive players that year was Antoine Winfield, a first round rookie cornerback who wouldn’t make a Pro Bowl until he was 31. Meanwhile, Buffalo didn’t make the playoffs again until 2017.

The year 1999; the Bills ending their playoff drought in 2017; the reason we know who Antoine Winfield is; a “dominant defense”; late career breakouts for defensive backs; the Seahawks new coaching staff. What do they all have in common? As you will find out in today’s semi-origin story, Leslie Frazier is the tie that binds them all and potentially the reason to be very, very, VERY excited about the futures of Seattle’s young secondary players.

So despite the fact that the Seahawks don’t hire head coaches very often and they have a really intriguing one embarking on his first season, and even though Frazier is not the head coach or the defensive coordinator or a position coach, he is still just as worthy of his own post as Mike Macdonald or Aden Durde. Not according to me, according to you: When I ran a poll recently asking who you most want an origin story about, 43% of respondents said Leslie Frazier. That was almost as much as second and third place combined.

(As a reminder, I also posted a link to Frazier’s interview on the Move the Sticks podcast recently. Here’s an interview he did in January, prior to being hired by the Seahawks.)

Frazier was a dominant cornerback at Alcorn State, intercepting 20 passes in his first three seasons, then signed with the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 1981. He proved to be even more valuable in the NFL, working his way into the starting lineup and intercepting 20 passes from 1982-1985, including six on the legendary 1985 defense. In the Super Bowl, Frazier destroyed his knee on a punt return and never played again.

Without any coaching experience, Frazier was named head coach of Trinity International University in 1988, where he stayed for nine more years until taking the defensive backs job at Illinois. The team went 0-11 in his first season, but at least in 1998 the Illini almost had a running back named Steve Harvey. Almost.

In his first year as the Eagles head coach in 1999, Andy Reid hired Frazier to coach defensive backs on a staff that also included John Harbaugh, Sean McDermott, Ron Rivera, and four others who have held NFL head coaching positions. The team went 5-11 in 1999, but with Frazier’s help, 29-year-old Troy Vincent made his first career Pro Bowl by leading the league with seven interceptions, meaning that in a roundabout way Frazier helped create the current executive vice president of football operations for the NFL.

Another first-time Pro Bowler in 1999 was safety Brian Dawkins, a Hall of Famer who had not had the kind of impact in his first three seasons prior to his connection with Frazier. Combined, Vincent and Dawkins made 0 Pro Bowls before Frazier and 14 Pro Bowls after Frazier.

Then there was Al Harris, a sixth round pick in his second season when Frazier joined Philly’s staff and helped him intercept four passes in 1999. Harris would later make two Pro Bowls with the Packers…and well, we don’t need to talk anymore about what else Al Harris did while with the Packers…

And Bobby Taylor, a former second round pick who had almost lost a grip on his career until he intercepted 13 passes in four season with Frazier, making his first and only Pro Bowl in 2002.

I always want to attribute the majority of success to the players, not coaches, because I believe that’s the most fair thing to do. But there’s no denying that similar to Pete Carroll’s impact on defensive backs throughout his 40+ years of coaching, there’s certainly a “before and after” when it comes to Frazier’s relationships with defensive backs during his ascent as a coach.

After the Eagles had three straight dominant seasons of defense, and three straight NFC Championships appearances, Marvin Lewis hired Leslie Frazier to be his first defensive coordinator on the Cincinnati Bengals. It seemed like the stars were aligning for a perfect marriage of two great defensive minds, but Lewis later admitted that he screwed up the opportunity for that to happen.

What you’ve read so far is ONLY THE INTRO. For the full Leslie Frazier resume as a defensive coordinator (14 different seasons with 4 different teams in that role alone), the long list of players he’s helped turn from journeymen into Pro Bowlers, All-Pros, and borderline Hall of Famers, and the reasons that the Seahawks might have gotten very lucky with this hire, join the Regular Joes or Super Joes club today. You’ll get access to this article, plus over 150 bonus articles per year, and the comments section, and you’ll support a daily Seahawks newsletter that honestly will never quit.