On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings will travel to Tampa Bay to take on the Buccaneers. Strangely enough, there are a couple things that tie the two teams together, but the most notable is that current Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier used to be a member of the Vikings coaching staff.
Leslie Frazier joined the Minnesota Vikings coaching staff in 2007 as the team’s defensive coordinator. In 2008, he received a promotion that added an assistant head coaching credit to his resume. When the Vikings fired Brad Childress as their head coach in 2010, Frazier found himself thrust into the role of interim head coach. The decision was made the following offseason to offer him the job as Minnesota’s head coach.
Dec 29, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier looks on during the first quarter against the Detroit Lions at Mall of America Field at H.H.H. Metrodome. The Vikings defeated the Lions 14-13. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Sadly, Frazier’s tenure as a head coach didn’t last very long. The 2011 season was a disaster. The team ended with a 3-13 record and things looked pretty bleak for the franchise. Over the course of his three seasons as a Vikings head coach, he accumulated a record of 21-32-1 and found himself relieved of his duties after the 2013 season.
Frazier didn’t stay unemployed for long. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hired him to act as the defensive coordinator under new head coach Lovie Smith. The two share a similar philosophies and make for an interesting pair of defensive minds to help guide the struggling Buccaneers.
Tampa Bay will face a struggling Vikings offense on Sunday that is last in the NFL in passing yards per game (183.9) and 29th in total yards per game (309.1). That offense will match up against a Buccaneers defense that is last in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game (294.5) and last in total yards allowed per game (422.8).
When the last place passing offense faces the last place passing defense, something has to give. Will it be Leslie Frazier’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense? Or will it be the Minnesota Vikings passing offense? We’ll find out on Sunday when the two teams clash.