Leslie Frazier has been the Seahawks’ assistant head coach since February 2024. He is the most experienced coach on the staff: a starting cornerback on the 1985 Bears, head coach of the Minnesota Vikings from 2010 to 2013, and defensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills team whose defense led the league in both yards and points allowed in 2021. He does not run a unit in Seattle. His job, in his own words, is to support Mike Macdonald, and Macdonald credits him with part of the Super Bowl run: “We wouldn’t be sitting here if he wasn’t here.”
Timeline with Seattle
- Feb 2024: Hired as assistant head coach, after a year out of coaching. He and Macdonald had worked together in Baltimore in 2016. Macdonald at the hire: “He’s been through the wars, he can see around the corners.” That July: “Les was probably the first or second guy we called.”
- Jan 2025: Interviewed in person for the Dallas Cowboys’ head coaching job.
- Feb 2026: Won his third Super Bowl ring, after Super Bowl XX as a Bears player and Super Bowl XLI on the Colts’ staff.
- 2026 cycle: No head coaching interviews. His answer when asked about it: “No, not for head coaching job. But I’m in a good place.”
How he got here
| Years | Where | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1981–1986 | Chicago Bears | Defensive back; started on the Super Bowl XX team; 20 career interceptions |
| 1988–1996 | Trinity International | Head coach |
| 1999–2002 | Philadelphia Eagles | Defensive backs |
| 2003–2004 | Cincinnati Bengals | Defensive coordinator |
| 2005–2006 | Indianapolis Colts | Assistant to the head coach and defensive backs; won Super Bowl XLI |
| 2007–2010 | Minnesota Vikings | Defensive coordinator |
| 2010–2013 | Minnesota Vikings | Head coach, interim at first; 21-32-1, playoffs in 2012 |
| 2014–2015 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Defensive coordinator |
| 2016 | Baltimore Ravens | Secondary |
| 2017–2022 | Buffalo Bills | Defensive coordinator |
| 2024– | Seattle Seahawks | Assistant head coach |
The Baltimore year matters in Seattle. Macdonald was on the Ravens’ defensive staff in 2016, and the two were close enough that he called Frazier when he got the Seattle job. Frazier also interviewed with the Chargers for their head coaching job in January 2024, weeks before he came to Seattle; the Chargers hired Jim Harbaugh.
What the job is
An assistant head coach on this staff is a sounding board, not a play-caller. Macdonald was 36 when Seattle hired him, the youngest head coach in the league at the time. Frazier had been a head coach and the defensive coordinator of four NFL teams. His description of the job in 2024: “The primary part of my job is being able to support Mike.” He talks about the head coaching question plainly, too. On the league passing him over again this year: “at my age… you just don’t see too many guys getting those opportunities.”
The full staff, and who coaches each position group, is on the coaching staff page. The Chargers, who interviewed him in 2024, come to Lumen Field on October 4; the game guide is up.