NFL: Minnesota Vikings extend coach Leslie Frazier's contract
After leading the Minnesota Vikings to a surprising playoff berth last season, Leslie Frazier has reached an agreement on a contract through 2014.
After leading the Minnesota Vikings to a surprising playoff berth last season, Leslie Frazier has reached an agreement on a contract through 2014.
The Vikings exercised the fourth-year option on his contract Wednesday, helping Frazier avoid what would have been a lame-duck season in 2013.
He 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 running back 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.
Coaching school
Retired NFL players Andre Rison, Mark Brunell, and Terrell Buckley are among 60 aspiring coaches who will attend training sessions next week on how to break into and move up in the field.
The third annual NFL-NCAA Coaches Academy will run Sunday through Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C. The program is one of several initiatives league officials hope will prevent a repeat of this offseason, when none of the league's eight head coaching openings went to minority candidates.
Twenty-eight former NFL players are scheduled to take part. The group will also include nine active players: Falcons linebacker Stephen Nicholas, Colts cornerback Darius Butler, Browns linebacker James-Michael Johnson, Raiders safety Mike Mitchell, and Seahawks tackle Frank Omiyale.
Many of the other participants currently have coaching jobs, mostly at small colleges.
In and out
Former Dallas Cowboys placekicker David Buehler has signed with the New York Giants. With Lawrence Tynes entering the final year of his contract with the Giants, Buehler, who did not play last year after failing a physical, may provide some competition in training camp. . . . Former Bears receiver Johnny Knox told the Chicago Sun-Times he's giving up football after the team terminated his contract Tuesday. He missed this past season recovering from a back injury.