"Black Monday" has taken yet another victim as the Minnesota Vikings have announced the firing of Leslie Frazier Monday morning, putting an end to the speculation over whether or not he'd be on the sidelines in 2014 after a disappointing season in Minnesota.
"We have tremendous respect and appreciation for Leslie and what he has done for the Minnesota Vikings," team owner Zygi Wilf said in a statement announcing the firing, according to ESPN. "He stepped in and established a strong positive culture here and he has been the consummate professional as our head coach and in this community. Making this change is difficult, but what we determined is best for the organization."
Frazier replaced Brad Childress as the Vikings coach with six games remaining in 2010, and the team finished in dead last in the NFC North in two of the last three seasons under Frazier.
The Vikings went 5-10-1 this season, just one year removed from making the playoffs in 2012, and lost seven of their first eight games to start the campaign, almost sealing their coach's fate from the start of the year.
In a little over three seasons with the team, Frazier, 54, went 21-32-1 with Minnesota. The highlight of his tenure was a 10-6 record in 2012 that saw the team place second in the NFC North and make the playoffs for the first time since 2009 before losing to the division rival Green Bay Packers in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
ESPN reports that the Vikings refused to discuss a long-term contract extension for Frazier after they picked up his option for 2014 following the successful 2012 campaign.
"Unfortunately, we did not achieve consistent success and did not achieve the progress we expected," Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said in the statement via ESPN. "We believe a coaching change is needed to help build a successful team moving forward."
It remains to be seen who will lead the Vikings into 2014, but it won't be Frazier.
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