Leslie Frazier says he’s headed to Tampa as defensive coordinator
Posted by Josh Alper on January 3, 2014, 10:11 PM EST
It’s been an interesting few days for Leslie Frazier.
He was fired as the head coach of the Vikings on Monday, called a coward by former Vikings punter Chris Kluwe on Thursday and ended the week by getting a new job. Josina Anderson of ESPN reports that Frazier told her that he is “headed to Tampa” to be the new defensive coordinator for the Buccaneers.
Frazier was mentioned as a possibility for the coordinator position shortly after Smith was reported as Tampa’s choice to replace Greg Schiano. Cowboys defensive line coach Rod Marinelli, who worked with Smith in Chicago, was also mentioned in relation to the job, but there was some question as to whether the Cowboys would approve a move to Tampa.
That appears to be a moot point now. Frazier worked as an assistant under Tony Dungy in Indianapolis, so there’s plenty of familiarity with the Cover 2 scheme that Smith, who worked for Dungy in Tampa, prefers to run.
He joins offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford as members of Smith’s first staff as the head coach in Tampa.