According to the Associated Press, the Minnesota Vikings have extended the contract of head coach Leslie Frazier. Terms of the deal were not immediately made available.
This is not a totally unexpected move. . .Frazier was going into the last year of his deal, and after the turnaround the Vikings put together in 2012, it would have been foolish for the team to let him go into the 2012 season as a "lame duck" coach.
Frazier just completed his second full season as the Vikings coach. He was named the interim head coach after Brad Childress was fired ten games into the 2010 season, and led the team to a 3-3 mark in the final six games. In 2011, the team went 3-13, as the lockout prevented him from a full off-season program with his players, including taking away the extra camps that he would have been entitled to as a new head coach.
In 2012, the Vikings were one of the league's bigger surprises, going 10-6, including winning the final four games of the season to push into the NFL playoffs.
From all accounts, players love to play for Leslie Frazier. . .well, with the possible exception of Percy Harvin, I guess. . .and it's good to see that the team has recognized not only that, but the progress that the team has made under his guidance.
Now, a contract extension doesn't mean all that much. After all, Brad Childress got a contract extension from the Vikings, and got fired before he completed the first year of it. But Frazier won't have to worry about his job status going into this season, which is a positive for both him and the Minnesota Vikings.