By: Aj Mansour | KFAN.com
@AjKFAN
Minneapolis, MN - Following last night's announcement that Vikings running back Adrian Peterson had won the NFL's Most Valuable Player award for the 2012 season, head coach Leslie Frazier hopped on the phone and joined Dan Barreiro on KFAN's Sunday Sermons to discuss his running back's honor.
"For Adrian to come away with those awards, it's just great for our organization, for our fans," Frazier said. "He had a terrific season."
After recapping Peterson's MVP honors and touching briefly on Cris Carter's induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Barreiro and Frazier turned their attention to former Bear's head coach Lovie Smith.
After the 2012 playoffs began, and once NFL team's began releasing coaches and searching for their replacements, eight positions came and went for head coaches in the league. Having recently parted ways with the Chicago Bears, Lovie Smith surprisingly was unable to land on his feet again and will seemingly sit out the upcoming season. This situation surprised Frazier, a close personal friend of Smith's.
"It was very disappointing [that Lovie didn't get picked up]," Frazier told KFAN. "We were talking on the phone and I said, 'Lovie, did you turn down some of these jobs?' He responded and said, 'Leslie, I didn't turn down one job. They chose other candidates.' I was like 'wow man.'"
During his nine seasons as head coach in Chicago, Smith led the Bears to an overall record of 81-63. The Bears also won the division three times and even appeared in the Super Bowl once under Smith's tutelage. Still, when head coaching jobs opened up around the league, nobody came knocking on Lovie's door.
"I know he's a very good coach," Frazier continued. "He's accomplished a lot in our league. For no owner of those eight jobs to feel like he was worthy of being a head coach, I was just surprised. Very, very surprised."
It's possible that Smith will land an assistant or coordinator job in the league next year, but odds are that someone with his pedigree will land a head coaching job once again.
LISTEN to the full interview with Leslie Frazier in the player below or CLICK HERE to download.
