For the second consecutive year, the Buffalo Bills failed to reach the AFC Championship despite owning near tops-in-the-business Super Bowl favorite odds.
This time, the Bills were thoroughly outclassed at home by the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC’s 2022 Divisional Round, losing to Joe Burrow and friends 27-10 at Highmark Stadium.
Ex-Vikings Head Coach Is Taking a Break
Well, the 2023 Bills will look slightly different as former Minnesota Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier is reportedly taking a year off.
The Buffalo Bills main social media account tweeted Tuesday morning, “Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier has decided to take a year off from coaching in 2023. He plans to return to coaching in 2024.”
Buffalo ranked fourth in the NFL via defensive DVOA, so Frazier will undoubtedly be missed. Since Josh Allen’s rise to power over the last handful of seasons, Frazier’s defense has been right there to accompany Buffalo’s offensive emergence. A season without Frazier in the saddle creates uncertainty, but a brand the Bills will likely figure out on the fly.
WKBW Matthew Bové pointed out on Twitter, “The release from the Bills says that Leslie Frazier plans to return to coaching in 2024. It doesn’t say he plans to return to coaching with the Bills or if he’ll return in his current role. Just another layer to all this confusion.”
And this is correct — will Frazier return as the Bills defensive coordinator or just a coach somewhere in 2024? It’s a fair question.
Frazier certainly didn’t thrive with the Vikings, but folks are afforded second chances in life and sports. The man has unmistakably excelled in Buffalo and perhaps could lead another team with more success than Frazier did with the Vikings from 2011 to 2013. In those seasons, Minnesota posted an 18-29-1 (.385) record, the eighth-worst in the NFL during the timeframe. Too, Frazier was hired as a defensive guru, and the Vikings defense ranked 28th in the league per EPA/Play from 2011 to 2013. It was not a fit for either party.
Per EPA/Play, since Frazier arrived Buffalo six years ago, the Bills defense has ranked as follows:
Bills Defense,
Per/EPA Play,
Since 2017:
2017 = 21st
2018 = 3rd
2019 = 5th
2020 = 15th
2021 = 1st
2022 = 7th
Not bad.
Frazier interviewed with the Chicago Bears and New York Giants during 2022’s coaching carousel, but the Bears landed on Matt Eberflus while the Giants hired Brian Daboll — the team that beat the Vikings in the postseason about 11 months later.
Before the 2022 season capped, Frazier was rumored as a candidate for the Indianapolis Colts head coaching job, but that never materialized.
Frazier will turn 64 in April.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.