Coach Frazier “Holding Things Together” For Vikings

Sep 29, 2013; London, UNITED KINGDOM; Minnesota Vikings coach Leslie Frazier (right) and linebacker Erin Henderson (50) embrace at the end of the NFL International Series game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Wembley Stadium. The Vikings defeated the Steelers 34-27. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Many teams with bad records tend to fall apart internally during the season and point a lot of fingers at each other.  That hasn’t been the case with the now 3-9-1 Minnesota Vikings squad.

Recently acquired wide receiver Greg Jennings feels that a lot of the credit for keeping this team together and motivated should go to Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier.  Here is what Jennings had to say about Frazier during a Q&A on Wednesday:

"Sep 8, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Greg Jennings (15) before the game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports“He’s definitely been holding things together,” Jennings said. “As far as the future, I don’t know; from a players’ standpoint, we don’t control that. That all goes from upstairs down. All we can do is control what we do, and that’s what he’s been doing, making sure he’s been hitting the points of emphasis. It’s about us executing. The one thing I can see within this locker room, we stick together like glue. No matter the outcome, we all take ownership of a loss or a win. Last week (was) a hard loss. Some would say devastating. But the vibe in the locker room amongst the guys that fought throughout that game … it was more like, ‘Man, that got away from us.’ “"

Meanwhile, Frazier felt that it was the leaders on and off the field that were helping to keep things together during these tough times.

"Nov 17, 2013; Seattle, WA, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier during the second half against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field. Seattle defeated Minnesota 41-20. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports“They’ve done a good job of keeping that locker room secure and keeping guys on task about working as hard as they can even though we haven’t gotten the results from that hard work that we were hoping for,” Frazier said. “Coming up with the right words to say is not always easy, especially after a ballgame like Sunday. That was a tough one. But we’ve got some resilient guys who work extremely hard and are still fighting.”"

Coach Frazier has drawn a lot of criticism for his lack of fire and emotion on the sidelines, but perhaps what the fans don’t see is more important than what they do.  Frazier is currently working on a one-year extension to his contract so that General Manager Rick Spielman can evaluate his performance throughout the year.  Time will only tell if Frazier gets another chance next season at being the Vikings head coach.