Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier is taking a year off from coaching but plans to return for the 2024 season, the team announced Tuesday.
The team gave no further details on Frazier’s decision, which came a little over five weeks after three-time AFC East champion Bills was knocked out with a 10-27 loss to Cincinnati in the divisional round of the playoffs.
The Bills have not said who will fill in for Frazier this season, although the team has hired Al Holcomb as senior defensive assistant. Holcomb ended last season as defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers under interim coach Steve Wilks after Matt Rhule was fired.
Coach Sean McDermott was scheduled to speak at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis later Tuesday.
Holcomb has ties to McDermott from their time together at Carolina. Holcomb coached linebackers during McDermott’s last four seasons as the Panthers’ defensive coordinator before being hired by Buffalo in 2017.
Frazier’s decision comes after an emotionally draining season that also included Damar Hamlin suffering cardiac arrest during a game in Cincinnati on Jan. 2 and requiring on-field resuscitation. The Bills also had their schedule disrupted by two major snowstorms.
Frazier, 63, has spent the last six seasons as the Bills’ defensive coordinator and was among the first coaches McDermott hired when he took office in Buffalo. Frazier was considered McDermott’s most trusted adviser.
He has 24 seasons of NFL coaching experience, including more than three years as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings from 2010-2013.
Last year, Frazier oversaw a Bills defense that overcame a series of injuries to finish sixth in the NFL in yards allowed and second in points allowed. In his six years at Buffalo, the Bills’ defense ranked third or better in yards allowed three times, including first in 2021.
Frazier is a former cornerback who spent five seasons in the NFL and was a member of the Chicago Bears’ famous Buddy Ryan defense, which won the Super Bowl in 1985 and is considered one of the best in league history.
Frazier entered coaching in 1988 as the head coach of NAIA Trinity College. In December, he was named a member of the Class of 2023 for the Black College Football Hall of Fame. He will be honored at a ceremony in June.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, transcribed or redistributed without permission.
