Should the Chicago Bears hire Leslie Frazier as head coach?

The Chicago Bears might want someone who has been in the league for a while.

The Philadelphia Years

Frazier broke into the NFL coaching ranks in 1999 when he was hired by Andy Reid to be the Philadelphia Eagles defensive backs coach. He coached Troy Vincent and Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins. Both shined under Frazier’s tutelage as together they totaled seven Pro Bowl appearances.

The Eagles secondary had 64 interceptions in the four seasons Frazier spent in Philadelphia. The Eagles went 39-25 in the regular season, 4-3 in the playoffs, made two NFC Championship Games, won the NFC East once, and defeated the Chicago Bears in the 2001 playoffs. Philly’s defensive backs had two picks in that game.

The Eagles pass defense never finished lower than 15th in the league from 1999-2002. Frazier also met his current boss Sean McDermott when they both coached under Johnson.

He also worked with some other future head coaches including Brad Childress, John Harbaugh, Ron Rivera, Pat Shurmer, and Steve Spagnuolo.

Frazier also picked up the best ways to pressure a quarterback when he reported to Jim Johnson. He learned a lot of big picture ideas from Reid.

Cincinnati Bengals Defensive Coordinator

Marvin Lewis hired Frazier to be his defensive coordinator in 2003. Lewis was a great defensive coordinator in Baltimore before being hired to turn around the Bengals. He needed a defensive mind to help turn around a defense that was more of a yield sign at the endzone than a stop sign.

In addition, Lewis needed someone who prioritized getting turnovers. Frazier helped in that aspect as in 2004 the Bengals ranked third in takeaways. Otherwise, the Bengals were a middle-of-the-road defense. The defense had just one pro-bowler in Frazier’s two seasons.

Lewis and Frazier had a falling out after the 2004 season and Frazier was fired. The Bengals were 16-16 during Frazier’s tenure as defensive coordinator.

Winning a Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts

Frazier landed a spot as defensive backs coach and special assistant to head coach Tony Dungy in 2005. That is where he was educated in Dungy’s famous Tampa 2 defense.

The 2006 Indianapolis Colts team beat the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl. Every Bears fan remembers just how good that Colts secondary was. Kelvin Hayden’s pick-6 sealed the Lombardi Trophy for Peyton Manning and the Colts.

It was also with the Colts that Frazier formed a relationship with Bill Polian who is now helping the Bears in their general manager and head coach search.

Frazier was held in such high esteem with the Colts that he was considered to replace Dungy after the coach’s retirement in 2008. The job went instead to Jim Caldwell, another Bears head coaching candidate. Tony Dungy hoped Frazier would have been hired for the Texans or Eagles job last year.