Minnesota Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman provided further detail on why head coach Leslie Frazier was fired during a 20-minute press conference Monday afternoon at Winter Park in Eden Prairie.
Spielman said the decision to let Frazier go came from team ownership, but he had the unfortunate task of informing Frazier.
He cited Frazier’s record as head coach (21-32-1) and a high number of late-game collapses as part of the reason he was fired. The Vikings lost in the final minute of games against the Browns, Bears, Cowboys and Ravens, and they blew a 16-point fourth quarter lead in their tie at Lambeau Field against the Packers this season.
The hiring process is already underway, and Spielman expects to begin interviewing candidates within 3-4 days. He hopes to have a new head coach in place by the Senior Bowl (Jan. 25).
“That’s usually the timeframe where it gives the head coach an opportunity to not only interview our coaches currently on our staff, but also to put together the best coaching staff possible,” Spielman said. “But that’s not going to be the ultimatum. If it takes longer, we’ll do that. This will be a very extensive search.”
According to the Star Tribune, the Vikings are open to hiring former NFL coaches, coordinators with or without head coaching experience and college coaches to name a few.
“The one thing I can tell you though as we did our research and looked to see if there was any specific category that was more successful than the other – there wasn’t,” Spielman said. “So that’s why we have to do this extensive process, and we have to go out and find the right head coach we think is going to lead us into the future and to give us the best chance to take the next step forward.”
Spielman also addressed the quarterback situation, saying he takes full responsibility for all personnel decisions.
https://twitter.com/GoesslingESPN/status/417750835439742976
Spielman: "I have the confidence that we'll get this quarterback situation resolved." #Vikings
— Aj Mansour (@AjKFAN) December 30, 2013
However, he did say Frazier had full authority on which quarterback started on a weekly basis, which was the opposite of what Frazier said following Sunday’s 14-13 win over Lions.
Spielman contradicts Frazier, saying: "I would never want to say, hey, you have to play this guy or have to play that guy."
— Bob “The BS Show” Sansevere (@bobsansevere) December 30, 2013
All of the remaining coaches are still under contract. Spielman will meet with each coach on an individual basis. All coaches can leave for another team with written permission from Spielman.
