Filed under: Football
![Leslie Frazier, Vikings Fire Childress, Promote Black Coach Leslie Frazier]()
The
Minnesota Vikings have a tumultuous season under the leadership of head coach
Brad Childress.
Everything from beefing with his quarterback
Brett Favre to tension in the locker room and the whole
trade-for-Randy-Moss-then-release-him debacle has plagued the team this season.
But the Childress era has come to an end with the Vikings announcing that they have fired the head coach and promoted defensive coordinator
Leslie Frazier to interim head coach.
Frazier has been interviewed seven times for head coaching jobs around the league but has yet to get hired. Now he has his chance. Even though the Vikings won't be making the playoffs this year, he can still show Viking ownership and teams around the league who may be looking for a head coach at the end of the season, that he's got some skills in leading a team to some wins.
"I know it's a tough one to take over because he was working for a guy he loved and was loyal to," Colts coach Jim Caldwell told ESPN about Frazier getting the job. "And it's hard for all of us because Brad Childress is a good man and a good coach. But Leslie deserves an opportunity, and I know he'll do a good job."
Childress, hired in 2006 to replace fired coach Mike Tice, released a statement to the press thanking the Vikings for the opportunity.
"I have a great respect for the players and coaches who I have worked with and for their dedication to each other and to the organization," he said. "I am proud of our accomplishments and believe the foundation of this football team is stronger today than when I became [coach] in 2006."
After the announcement of the firing, Frazier held his first press conference and assured that Brett Favre will remain at quarterback and that he wouldn't discuss any of the things that may have gotten his predecessor fired.
"This is a day, in some ways, of celebration for our team," Frazier said. "It's a chance for us to embrace this opportunity we have as a group."
At season's end, Frazier could be considered to stay on head coach permanently, but that depends on how well the team plays to close out the season.
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The Minnesota Vikings have a tumultuous season under the leadership of head coach Brad Childress.