Of the Beginning

Leslie Frazier owns two diamond-studded elephants that sit alongside him in whatever room he chooses to inhabit at the Minnesota Vikings Winter Park complex, or anywhere else for that matter. They are his two Super Bowl rings: the ring that he won in Super Bowl XX, as a cornerback for the Chicago Bears, in a game that ended his career as a player, and the ring that he won in Super Bowl XLI, as a Special Assistant to Indianapolis Colts head-coach Tony Dungy. I am not a "sports writer" by training, or for that matter, by culture. Anyone who has read this blog understands that I have no intention of falling into that trap. There seems to be an understanding among many of those who are paid to do what I'm doing right now that, one way or another, Leslie Frazier will be replaced as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings at the end of the 2010 season. Even if Frazier posts a winning record during the final six games of the regular season, there are voices chattering openly that Zygi Wilf will elect to hire a "big name" head coach, from among the usually mentioned Super-Bejeweled luminaries: Bill Cowher, John Gruden, Brian Billick, and of course, the Super-Tuna, Bill Parcells. Accordingly, NFL pundits routinely insert the term "interim" whenever referring to Leslie Frazier's position with the Minnesota Vikings. Personally, I don't buy it. I especially don't believe that someone as astute as Bill Parcells (or any of the others for that matter) would allow himself to become part of the Minnesota Vikings organization without being assured in writing that Rick Spielman would not be his boss. If Parcells were to be hired by the Vikings, then it would almost certainly not be as the head coach, but rather in a management role that included Spielman's portfolio. It is true that the Parcells-led management group elected to pass on Leslie Frazier for the Miami Dolphins head coaching job in 2008, but the man they hired, Tony Sparano, was a Parcells associate, and Frazier did not have as much coaching experience then as he has today. Based on resume alone, I believe that a strong case can be made that Leslie Frazier is every bit as qualified to be hired as an NFL head coach now, as Mike Tomlin was in 2007. I'm fairly confident that Bill Parcells is aware of this too. So, the question is: If Bill Parcells were to be brought into the Minnesota Viking organization, would that necessarily mean that Leslie Frazier would not be retained as the head coach, especially if Frazier posted at worst a 4-2 record? This writer only subscribes to the notion that the remainder of the Viking's 2010 regular season is an "audition" for Frazier to the extent that said audition is fair, and that those who indulge in chattering campaigns regarding his "inevitable" ouster are shown the appropriate level of contempt.