Leslie Frazier said after a grueling 2022 season with the Buffalo Bills, he reached an inflection point.
The 64-year-old coach said it had been a stressful season — including safety Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest during a January game against the Cincinnati Bengals — and he was not sure whether he wanted to return for another season.
Frazier ultimately decided to leave the team and take a year off, but offered little public explanation. Now the veteran coach is opening up, revealing in an appearance on the “Zach Gelb Show” on CBS Sports Radio what went into the decision and putting to rest rumors that he may have been forced out of his position.
Leslie Frazier Needed a Change
Frazier said the difficulty of the last season led him to do some reflection, considering his future with the team and in the NFL.
“It got to a point for me where I felt like this was something I needed to do at this stage in my career,” Frazier said, via the Buffalo News. “That 2022 season was a challenging year with some of the things that we went through, with Damar and some of the things that happened with our team.”
Leslie Frazier reacts to Ken Dorsey getting fired from the Bills.
Though there had been some speculation that Frazier may have been forced out of his role in Buffalo following a crushing playoff loss to the Bengals, the coach revealed that it was a decision he reached on his own during the offseason.
“We were getting ready to go back to the combine and I was at home and just thinking about, man, did I want to go back for another year?” Frazier said. “I made the decision to take a year off and see what happens from there. I don’t regret the decision, but I do miss the guys.”
Support for Another Former Bills Coach
Frazier’s interview came just days after another major shakeup for the Bills. After a Monday Night Football loss to the Denver Broncos, the Bills fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, replacing him with quarterbacks coach Joe Brady.
Frazier, who grew close to Dorsey during their time together in Buffalo, said it was painful to see the abrupt firing.
“I’m really hurting for Kenny,” Frazier said. “He’s a good friend of mine and obviously we worked together for years. It hurt me because I hate to see coaches get fired, especially during the season. That’s a hard thing.”
Frazier added that he reached out to Dorsey two days after his firing, trying to offer some encouragement.
“I tried to encourage him. He was in good spirits, man,” Frazier said. “He really lifted my spirits just in talking with him. He’s not down and dejected like I thought he would be. He felt like I did everything I could to put the guys in position and we just came up short.
“He’ll land on his feet. It’s not a situation that anybody would to be put in, but he’ll learn from this experience and I think he’ll be a better coordinator down the line.”
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Ex-Bills DC Leslie Frazier Reveals ‘Truth’ About His Abrupt Exit