Ponder will start the rest of the season

 October 19, 2011  Star Tribune

"It's a done deal. And permanent too. That's the hope at Winter Park anyway.
On Wednesday morning, Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier stopped delaying the inevitable and made the official declaration. Rookie Christian Ponder is now the starting quarterback. And barring injury or some other unforeseen circumstance, Ponder will start the team's final 10 games.
The first start comes Sunday versus the undefeated Packers at Mall of America Field.
"This does not mean that I am giving up on the 2011 season or that our coaching staff if giving up on the 2011 season," Frazier said. "The decision was made purely on what will gives us the best chance to win on Sunday. That's why the decision was made. I didn't feel or sense that staying status quo was going to get us a win on Sunday. Based on that, along with some other things that I looked at, I decided this was the direction we needed to go at this point in our season."
Realistically, it's far too late for Ponder to revive a 2011 season that has the Vikings at 1-5 and ahead of only the Rams in the NFC standings. But it's certainly not too early to start getting the 23-year-old some much-needed game experience. And while Frazier insisted repeatedly Wednesday that he promoted Ponder over Donovan McNabb to give the Vikings the best chance at winning Sunday's home game with Green Bay, there's far greater long-term value for the franchise in making the switch now.
"There's no question that the fact that he'll get a chance to start playing in Week 7 of our season, it should help him in the future," Frazier said. "But that was not a part of my thinking."

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Vikings coach Leslie Frazier says he stands by Donovan McNabb as starting quarterback

September 26 - St. Paul Pioneer Press

"Three games into Donovan McNabb's tenure with the Vikings, he remains winless and coach Leslie Frazier is being asked whether he has considered benching the veteran quarterback.
Frazier dismissed a postgame question about McNabb's status as the starter, with first-round pick Christian Ponder waiting on the sidelines, after Minnesota's 26-23 overtime loss to the Detroit Lions, which dropped the Vikings to 0-3 on the season.
"I don't think the quarterback position is our problem right now," Frazier said. "No. We're not thinking about anything at the quarterback position."
McNabb completed a season-high 22 passes and discovered some chemistry with receiver Michael Jenkins, who caught nine balls for 88 yards. He finally connected with tight end Visanthe Shiancoe for an 8-yard touchdown strike to give the Vikings a 20-0 halftime lead.
But McNabb finished with only 211 yards and misfired badly on several attempts - imprecision coming under greater scrutiny."

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Leslie Frazier & The Minnesota Vikings Hire James Saxon As Running Backs Coach

Leslie Frazier has chosen James Saxon to head his running back unit for the Mn Vikings.  The Mn Vikings have arguably the best running back in the NFL in  Adrian Peterson and Toby Gerhart is an impressive back as well. Saxon spent eight years as a player in the NFL and was most an assistant coach for the Miami Dolphins for the past three years.  Before that Saxon was an assistant coach for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2001 to 2007. 

(PER ESPN)  More From ESPN Here

The Minnesota Vikings Hire Mike Singletary As The Linebacker Coach / Assistant Head Coach

Leslie Frazier and the Mn Vikings have hired Mike Singletary as the Vikings Linebacker/Assistant Head Coach.  This is a great move.  Mike Singletary, or "The Minister Of Defense" as he is referred to since he is an ordained Minister, couldn't be more of a polar opposite than Leslie Frazier.  Frazier's calm cool attitude in the face of adversity and challenges are why the Vikings hired him as their head coach and also why Singletary's style is the perfect compliment.

Mike Singletary, aka "The Minister Of Defense", "Samurai Mike" or "Iron Mike", has a very intense personality.  He carried this intensity and  passion with him both as a player in the NFL and as a coach.  Singletary played 12 years in the NFL for Mike Ditka and the Chicago Bears, only missed two games, and the reason Sigletary has been given more than one nickname is his intensity and style of play.  Singletary intimidated his NFL rivals with his aggressive, in your face, smash mouth football style!

Singletary was most recently the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, until he was fired after the 49ers were eliminated from playoff contention in 2010.  He spent three years as the 49ers head coach, and  head coach isn't where Singletary belongs - he is "The Minister Of Defense."

Singletary's intensity is welcomed in Minnesota and we look forward to his leadership that the Mn Vikings defense will need next year and beyond.

More On Mn Vikings Coach Leslie Frazier

Leslie Frazier has spent 18 years in the NFL, 12 as an assistant coach and six as a player and also owns a couple Super Bowl Rings. Frazier has the support of the Vikings players, fans & the Wilf family.

"It would mean the world to these guys in here," linebacker Ben Leber told the Tribune. "Everybody respects him and just to have some solidarity and cohesiveness going into the offseason."

Coach Frazier showed great temperament with all the adversity that he was challenged with during the time as the interim coach and this must have solidified the decision for the Wilf family to make Leslie Frazier the head coach of the Vikings.

Mn Vikings Sign Leslie Frazier As Head Coach

The Minnesota Vikings announced today, that Leslie Frazier will officially be their head coach moving forward.  Exact terms of Frazier's contract have not yet been disclosed.  The Vikings have many personnel issues to address this off-season and announcing Frazier as the head coach before the end of the season has to be refreshing for the players (and fans).  Frazier has a firm hold of the players in the locker room and many of the players have been very outspoken about the fact that they want Frazier back.

Antoine Winfield, who will be the biggest leader in the Vikings defensive backfield in 2011, was very outspoken about wanting Frazier back as the coach in his post game interview after the Vikings beat the Philadelphia Eagles on December 28th.

Quotes from Frazier & Owner/Chairman Zygi Wilf on the announcement that Frazier will be the new head coach:

"I could not have asked for a better opportunity in the National Football League," Frazier said in the team's statement.
"We are thrilled that Leslie Frazier will continue to lead this football team," Owner/Chairman Zygi Wilf said in the statement.