Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier to take a year off, plans to return in 2024
The Buffalo Bills' offseason already includes one notable loss.
Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier has decided to take a year off from coaching, the Bills announced. He plans to return in 2024, the team said.
It is very unusual for a coach to take a year off and return. The team gave no reason for Frazier, who will turn 64 years old on April 3, taking a year off.
At the NFL scouting combine, Bills general manager Brandon Beane said that Frazier could have been the team's defensive coordinator this season if he wanted.
"He doesn't want to retire, he's not there in his mind. But he wanted to take a step back," Beane said, via Ryan O'Halloran of the Buffalo News.
Frazier has been the Bills' defensive coordinator since 2017 and has had a successful run. The Bills finished in the top 10 in either points allowed or yardage allowed for five straight seasons.
Frazier got some head-coaching interviews after his run of success in Buffalo. Frazier was the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings from 2010-13. The team went 21-32-1 those seasons.
The Bills announced they hired Al Holcomb as a senior defensive assistant, though they did not say who will be the team's defensive coordinator in 2023. Holcomb was interim defensive coordinator and assistant head coach for the Carolina Panthers the past two seasons. Sean McDermott was a defensive coordinator before becoming the Bills' head coach.
