Former Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier was replaced today in Minnesota, as you have undoubtedly heard.
While the Purple were busy finalizing a deal with Mike Zimmer, Frazier was busy talking in Tampa Bay, his new home after taking just four days to find a new gig after being fired by the Vikings.
The new Bucs defensive coordinator was supposed to be talking to the media about his team’s defense, but instead questions wandered to his old job in Minnesota, specifically what happened with Josh Freeman.
Here’s Frazier, quoted in an ESPN article when answering questions about the Tampa Bay signal-caller:
“He worked as hard as he could every week to prepare and be ready to go. He was a pro in every sense of the word. But we made a decision to try to figure out where Christian Ponder was and also take a look at Matt Cassel because we were trying to determine and get some answers regarding our quarterback position. Josh got caught up in the shuffle. It probably wasn’t a fair situation for him. It made it difficult for him. It made it difficult for all of us when you’re trying to evaluate quarterbacks in an NFL season. That’s not a wise thing. Nothing to do with Josh. He prepared and worked as hard as he could to get on the field. It just didn’t work out.’’
The key points of that statement clearly hinge on Frazier saying the situation wasn’t fair to Freeman, and that the way Minnesota handled the QB situation was not wise.
Freeman got just one start with Minnesota after signing a contract north of $2 million post-Tampa Bay release, with Christian Ponder starting nine games and Matt Cassel starting six in 2013.
The Vikings will likely start fresh at quarterback with Zimmer as the new head coach, with Cassel facing a player option to return to the team in 2014, and Ponder the only other QB under contract next season.
