Seahawks Coach Leslie Frazier Brings 'Wealth of Knowledge' to Young Staff

Bringing more than two decades of NFL coaching experience on his resume, Leslie Frazier will be a welcome addition to a Seattle Seahawks staff loaded with coaches taking on their new roles for the first time, including head coach Mike Macdonald.

Starting with the decision to hire Mike Macdonald as their new head coach replacing Pete Carroll, the Seattle Seahawks have seemingly preferred everything over experience building their new-look coaching staff.

Along with Macdonald, the Seahawks officially announced hirings of offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, defensive coordinator Aden Durde, and special teams coach Jay Harbaugh on Tuesday, giving the staff a quartet of coaches entering their current roles for the first time at the NFL level. Macdonald has never been a head coach before, while Grubb, Durde, and Harbaugh have been coordinators at lower levels but never in the league.

Combining for zero years of prior service in their current positions on NFL staffs, Seattle undoubtedly has decided to partake in a grand experiment handing the keys to the franchise to Macdonald, Grubb, and company. Hiring a new head coach always carries risk, but general manager John Schneider and the ownership group has more than doubled down by signing off on the coordinator hires, choosing upside over experience for nearly every opening so far.

Set to enter his 25th season as an NFL assistant coach, Leslie Frazier's experience will be critical for Mike Macdonald's first head coaching job to open with success in Seattle / © Mark Konezny, USA TODAY

To help ease that transition with growing pains being inevitable, however, before deciding on an offensive or defensive coordinator, Macdonald wisely turned his attention to persuading an old friend to join him in the Pacific Northwest. Understanding the value of experience, he reached out to his mentor Leslie Frazier, former head coach of the Vikings and long-time NFL defensive coordinator, to join the staff as an assistant head coach.

Citing his relationship with Macdonald dating back to their time together on the Ravens in 2016, Frazier chose the Seahawks over three other interested teams, signing the dotted line to give the staff an invaluable resource with 24 years of NFL coaching under his belt.

"I've had a relationship with Les for a long time," Macdonald said of Frazier on Brock and Salk on Seattle Sports 710 on Monday. "Obviously he's got an incredible track record in the NFL, being a head coach, high powered defenses, being on the Bears 85 team. So much wealth of knowledge, so I have so much respect for him, both in what he knows football wise and also just his character."

Widely respected in coaching circles for his efforts between the lines as well as his kindness off the field, Frazier has been one of the NFL's top defensive minds for more than two decades. An outstanding teacher first and foremost, he has coordinated four top-10 scoring defenses in his outstanding career, enjoying the vast majority of that success in his last stop in Buffalo.

Working in tandem with coach Sean McDermott as the defensive coordinator, Frazier led the Bills to unprecedented success from 2017 to 2022. Along with finishing first or second in scoring defense three times in a four-year span under his watch, the team finished in the top five in passing defense three times and in the top-10 in turnovers created in all six of his seasons at the helm.

Long before going to Buffalo, Frazier earned his reputation learning under iconic coaches such as Tony Dungy and Marvin Lewis early in his coaching career. After leading the Vikings 10th-ranked scoring defense in 2009, he caught his first major break in 2010 when the franchise fired Brad Childress midway through the season and appointed Frazier as his successor, eventually turning the interim tag into a four-year stint as head coach.

For Macdonald, who worked extensively with Frazier in 2016 as a defensive assistant in Baltimore, having the seasoned coaching veteran available as a reference will be a major boon as he deals with the challenges of being a first-time head coach.

"He's going to be a massive resource for us and me personally, navigating it being a first time head coach," Macdonald remarked. "He's kind of been through the wars, he can see around the corners. And he's been a great help so far, but we're working on this thing as a great partnership between him and I and I just really respect Les. I'm really happy that he decided to join us."

With Frazier in the fold, Macdonald won't be the only coach on Seattle's staff to benefit greatly from his presence. On the defensive staff alone, Durde will be able to pick his brain for on-the-job advice as he embarks on his first coordinator job, while pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach Karl Scott stands to gain as much as anyone learning from the former NFL safety who has been coaching in the secondary for more than 20 years.

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Even on offense and special teams, Grubb and Harbaugh have nothing to lose leaning on Frazier's past experience as a head coach, coordinator, and positional coach at the highest level. Given his understanding of modern NFL offenses and how defenses are trying to slow them down, he would be a fun resource for Grubb to converse with as he adapts his scheme to the pros, while Harbaugh would benefit from his perspective managing multiple position groups and overall understanding of the game.

Ultimately, however, Frazier's arrival will carry the most weight for Macdonald, who will have to deal with a vastly expanded set of duties handling everything from tough in-game decisions to weekly game-planning to maintaining a positive culture among other things. Without any other assistants with past head coaching experience to turn to, when things get tricky, he will have a close confidant at his disposal at all times, which should provide him with the best opportunity for success.