The Seattle Seahawks have appointed Leslie Frazier as their assistant head coach, as reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Frazier, a seasoned coach, previously served as the defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills from 2017 to 2022 before taking a hiatus in 2023.
He now returns to the coaching arena alongside new Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald, the former defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens, who was announced as head coach on Wednesday. According to Pelissero, Frazier has been a long-time mentor for McDonald’s, and the two are set to collaborate in Seattle.
Having initiated his coaching career in 1988 in college football, Frazier has held various defensive coaching roles in the NFL. He also served as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings for three seasons from 2011 to 2013, achieving one playoff appearance and experiencing two losing seasons.
Despite limited success as a head coach, Frazier gained recognition as a top defensive coordinator during his tenure with the Bills. Under his guidance, Buffalo’s defense consistently ranked among the top five in the NFL, allowing only 315 total yards per game from 2017 to 2022, the best in the league during that period.
Now back with an NFL team, Frazier aims to replicate the defensive success he had with the Bills while working with the Seahawks.
Taking over from Pete Carroll, who spent 14 seasons with the Seahawks, head coach Macdonald and his staff face the challenge of filling big shoes. In the latter years of Carroll’s tenure, the Seahawks experienced limited success, either losing in the wild-card round or failing to make the playoffs in his final four seasons.
Macdonald, Frazier, and the rest of the Seahawks staff are focused on guiding the team to their first Super Bowl appearance in a decade next year.
