Bob Sansevere knows his history.
With more than 20 years as a columnist at the St. Paul Pioneer Press, many of those covering the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings, Sansevere saw how coaches like Les Steckel, Bud Grant, Dennis Green, and Mike Tice related to and worked with their players.
Trust Sansevere when he says Leslie Frazier is no Les Steckel.
That may be one reason why Frazier will return for his second season as head coach of the Vikings. Despite going 3-13 and working through numerous injuries and a change in quarterback nearly midway through the season, Sansevere and others close to the program feel Frazier handled the situation as well as any coach could.
“Leslie is a very classy guy, a high-character guy,” Sansevere said. “He is an honorable guy to deal with. He is the kind of coach I think a player would want to play for.”
The comparisons between Steckel and Frazier were made in part because Steckel’s 1984 Vikings and Frazier’s 2011 team went 3-13. The difference in Sansevere’s thinking is that Steckel’s Vikings quit on their coach, as evidenced by the team losing its final six games of the season by an average of 27 points per game.
This past season, Frazier’s team shared a space some thought best reserved only for the worst in franchise history. Minneapolis Star Tribune columnist Sid Hartman, though, gave that honor to the 1984 team.
Sansevere agrees because Frazier, in his first full season as head coach of the Vikings, led a team that lost nine games by seven points or less this past season. Minnesota lost seven of its final eight games. The only victory in that stretch came in week 16 in a 33-26 victory at the Washington Redskins. Sansevere points out that the Vikings lost four of those seven games down the stretch by six points or less as a sign Frazier kept control of his team and of his locker room and had earned the respect of the Vikings because they continued to play hard.
Steckel’s 3-13 season marked the end of his tenure as head coach in Minnesota. Grant came out of retirement to take over for Steckel, who went on to work as an assistant coach or coordinator with numerous NFL teams and at several colleges.
Frazier endured speculation that his first season (he served as interim head coach for the final six games of the 2010 season after he replaced Brad Childress) would be his last, but Sansevere said Frazier’s job never was in doubt because the Vikings are still paying Childress not to coach and that the Wilf family, which owns the Vikings, likes Frazier.
How long that affinity continues remains to be seen. But Sansevere said Frazier didn’t change his mentality when he became coach and that he developed relationships with the players that helped him motivate a team that was beset by injuries and inexperience.
“Leslie is comfortable with who he is, and he did not have to let people know he is in charge,” Sansevere said.
Sansevere admits Frazier did make mistakes. He believes Frazier would not have brought in veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb, who played previously for the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins, if he realized he wasn’t going to be a good fit. McNabb started the first six games of the season and was replaced in week seven by former Florida State standout Christian Ponder. Minnesota waived McNabb on Dec. 1.
Sansevere said the “wear and tear” on McNabb’s body, combined with the lack of time in the preseason to learn a new system due to the lockout, made it even tougher for McNabb to feel comfortable in Minnesota.
Going forward, Sansevere feels Ponder could be the quarterback for the Vikings, but he also thinks backup Joe Webb has potential, even if he isn’t a polished thrower, because he can make things happen.
“In the first game he played in (a 33-27 loss to the Green Bay Packers), Ponder was very daring and exciting,” Sansevere said. “As the season went on, it seemed like he became tentative They appear to be committed to him, but I think they have to get him back to the more free-wheeling style of play. He looked like he was playing not to make mistakes (at the end of the season).”
In addition to changing quarterbacks, the Vikings also lost standout running back Adrian Peterson to a career-threatening injury. The Vikings put Peterson on injured reserve Dec. 26 after he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.
Frazier also had to make changes to his coaching staff, which Sansevere says shows Frazier is willing to do what is best for the team even if it means sacrificing or damaging a friendship.
Where does that leave the Vikings? Sansevere said this draft will be key for the Vikings because they have numerous areas they need to improve, including the secondary, offensive line, and wide receiver. Sansevere isn’t sure which way the Vikings will go, but he knows Frazier will have to make progress this season to ensure he gets a chance to return for a third year.
“Right now they are a long way off,” Sansevere said.
Another source close to the program agrees, especially with the notion that Frazier evoked confidence in his players and that he developed an honest relationship with his players. The source said the ability of a coach to gain the confidence of his players is essential because it provides stability and helps breed team chemistry.
“I think his biggest failing as a head coach may have been not understanding how far away they really were,” the source said. “The first three losses set the tone that this was not going to be a playoff team, and sent the team into a spiral quicker than people would have figured.”
Minnesota lost its first four games. It led at halftime in each of the first three games.
Through all the adversity, the source said Frazier remained well-liked and open to working with members of the media. He said it will be a “monumental challenge” for the Vikings to get back to the playoffs, especially in a division that features Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, an up-and-coming Detroit Lions team, and a playoff contender like the Chicago Bears.
Like Sansevere, the source said the NFL draft in April will play a large role in determining Frazier’s fate. He said the team may need to go young to get better, which he said isn’t the best thing to guarantee the job security of a coach coming off a 3-13 season.
“He is going to have to win enough to stay secure in the job he has,” the source said. “Going 3-13 doesn’t buy a lot of extra time with the fans, the media, and the organization. He has to show progress.
“Now that he has his fingerprints all over it and that he has changed the coaching staff, he will have a second year to work with the team and install some things,” the source said. “If they go 3-13 next year, he could be in big trouble.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.