MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - After leading the Vikings to a surprising playoff berth last season, Leslie Frazier has reached an agreement that will keep him in Minnesota for a while.
Two people with knowledge of the deal tell The Associated Press the two sides agreed on a multi-year deal this week. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been announced, and terms were not immediately known.
Frazier took over for the fired Brad Childress with six games to go in the 2010 season. He is 16-22 in the regular season since then.
Frazier was entering the final year of his deal, and talks of an extension started to become an issue publicly as the Vikings mounted a stunning December run to the playoffs. Stuck at 6-6 and without injured receiver Percy Harvin, the Vikings rode Adrian Peterson to four straight victories, including a thriller over Green Bay in the regular-season finale to thrust them into the postseason. They lost to the Packers the next week in the wild card round.
Frazier inherited a chaotic season in 2010, when a team that was expected to make a Super Bowl run started falling apart. Brett Favre wasn't playing nearly as well in his second season with the Vikings, a trade for Randy Moss turned into a disaster and the Metrodome roof collapsed shortly after he took over for Childress.
Last season, Frazier never wavered even when quarterback Christian Ponder was struggling, Harvin was hurt and the defense was having difficulty putting pressure on the quarterback.
``Just his voice and what he has brought to this team and the locker room, it's been huge,'' Peterson said in December. ``Guys really connect with him on that level. Just feeling his presence through his words and the confidence he has in us. Everything he speaks out there, we embrace and trust in his word.''
The approach worked like a charm.
Ponder started to play better in December, Peterson topped 2,000 yards to run away with the MVP award and the Vikings surprised everyone by squeaking in as the sixth seed in the NFC. It was an emphatic rebound for Frazier, who went 3-13 in his first full season and drew criticism from fans for a perceived inability to make in-game adjustments.
Now with Frazier and GM Rick Spielman in place at the top of the organization's pecking order, the Vikings appear primed to return to relevance for the long haul sooner than many had thought. Peterson will have a full healthy summer to work out after being limited last year while recovering from ACL surgery, Ponder will have another year of development under his belt and the Vikings will look to continue to the productive drafting that has aided the quick turnaround.
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