Columbus native Leslie Frazier, who played on the legendary Chicago Bears team that won Super Bowl XX and later coached the Minnesota Vikings to the NFL playoffs, will be inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in August 2017.
The announcement came Thursday at the hall of fame museum in Jackson.
Frazier, hired in January as secondary coach for the Baltimore Ravens, is now in his 18th season as an NFL coach, including a stint as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings (2010-13).
In three-plus seasons as the Vikings coach, Frazier compiled a 21-32 record. His best season came in 2012, his second full season as coach, when he led Minnesota to a 10-6 record and a berth in the playoffs. The biggest single-season turnaround in Vikings history resulted in Frazier finishing fourth in voting for the NFL Coach of the Year Award.
After being fired the following year, Frazier moved to Tampa Bay, where he served as the Buccaneers’ defensive coordinator from 2013-15.
Frazier also has served as assistant coach in Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Indianapolis where he helped the Colts to victory in Super Bowl XLI in 2006, and Minnesota (2007-10).
Growing up in Columbus, Frazier was a three-sport star (football, baseball, basketball) at Lee High. After graduating in 1977, he moved on to Alcorn State where he became an All-American defensive back. He played six seasons with the Bears, ending his playing career in New Orleans as the Bears crushed New England, 46-10, in Super Bowl XX.
Although he hasn’t lived in Mississippi since his Alcorn State days, Frazier has maintained ties “back home.” He remains close friends with Columbus mayor Robert Smith, a high school teammate, and joined Smith for a fundraiser at the Trotter Center in 2013 to provide funds for the city’s annual senior citizens Thanksgiving luncheon.
Frazier will join sports writer Rick Cleveland, Major League Baseball pitcher Jay Powell, longtime baseball coach and Jackson State Athletic Director Bob Braddy Sr., standout running back Marcus Dupree, and Ole Miss basketball standout Eugenia Conner in the Hall of Fame Class of 2017.
Frazier and his wife, Gale, have three children: Kieron, Chantel, and Corey, that latter of whom played defensive back at Rice University.
The induction ceremonies will be held at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum on Aug. 4-5.
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