Former Bills DC Leslie Frazier Says Leaving Buffalo ‘Helped Me’ Grow

Getty Former Bills defensive coordinator and assistant head coach Leslie Frazier in January 2023.

Former Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator and assistant head coach Leslie Frazier stepped away for the 2023 NFL season, but his future goals are clear. Frazier wants to return to the league as a head coach.

Heading into Week 18, Black Monday is just around the corner. Six to eight head coaching positions are expected to open up, per CBS Sports, and Frazier told the outlet he’s been preparing for interviews.

While taking a sabbatical seemed like an odd move for someone wanting to be a head coach, he didn’t exactly take the year off. Working as an analyst for the NFL Network and 33rd Team throughout the season, he remained connected to the game. In fact, Frazier said leaving Buffalo helped him grow.

“It’s forced me to broaden my horizons a little bit,” Frazier said. “Looking at the league from a global standpoint as opposed to just a team that I’m on and just the opponent that we’re getting prepared for. It’s forced me to see the league in its entirety and it’s helped me to get more involved in some of the angles that allow you to win.”

The 64-year-old said his vast resume sets him apart from other, likely younger, candidates. “I think each one of those experiences has helped to prepare me to be a better head coach in this second opportunity.” If hired, Frazier would enter his 25th season coaching in the NFL.

Leslie Frazier’s Return to Buffalo Is Highly Unlikely

GettyBills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier is seen prior to the game at Highmark Stadium on October 30, 2022.

While there was initial confusion over whether Frazier would return to Orchard Park, that door seems closed. After participating in the NFL’s Coach Accelerator program, Frazier took visits with the Green Bay Packers, Washington Commanders, and New York Giants.

The Buffalo News‘ Jay Skurski wrote that visiting different teams during the offseason “is not something a coach with any intention of returning to his old role would do. I also don’t think the Bills would be cool with Frazier spending time with other teams if they had any idea he’d return in 2024.”

Frazier told CBS Sports he’s spoken with several teams throughout the season. The ’85 Bears legend took Zoom calls with coaches to discuss game-planning for specific teams.

“I want to be able to be a part of this hiring cycle,” Frazier said. “I would love to be able to interview with an owner or organization for one of the head coach vacancies. And I’m basing it on my past experience as a head coach who took a team to the playoffs, the success I’ve had in the NFL as a coordinator. And hope that would warrant me that opportunity.That’s the goal, that’s my hope. that I’ll be included in this cycle and have a chance to interview with one of the organizations that has an opportunity.”

While Bills head coach Sean McDermott taking over the role of defensive coordinator has had mixed results, he’s not going anywhere.

Leslie Frazier Said He Left Buffalo for the ‘Right’ Reasons

GettyDefensive Coordinator Leslie Frazier of the Buffalo Bills looks on prior to a game against the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Wild Card playoff game at Highmark Stadium on January 15, 2023.

Three months after his abrupt exit from Buffalo, Frazier opened up to SI’s Albert Breer about his mysterious departure. “I think my reasons for stepping away were the right reasons; I feel good about it,” he said.

Adjusting to unemployment was difficult at first. “It’s been so long — more than 30 years — since I haven’t been on a schedule this time of the year. So it was a challenge just trying to figure out what to do with myself.”

Over time, however, things got a “lot better as far as me being organized in how I want to spend my time. And I’m thankful for it, just very, very thankful that I can do this. I’m so grateful that I’m in a position where we can step back and not be sweating about finances. So, just very thankful.”

While Frazier is open to working as a defensive coordinator again, he wants to return to the top job. In 2010, Frazier became the interim head coach for the Minnesota Vikings, a position he held through December 2013.

“There’s no doubt in my mind because of the things that have transpired over the last 10 years, and the things that I’ve seen and experienced, that I’ll be a better head coach the second time around — for sure,” Frazier said.