Tuesday Carousel: McDaniels To St. Louis, Samurai Mike TO Vikes

The St. Louis Rams hired Josh McDaniels as their new offensive coordinator.

The team announced the hire on its Twitter feed- OneRamsWay. McDaniels replaces Pat Shurmur who was hired as the new Cleveland Browns head coach.

Coach Steve Spagnuolo called McDaniels one of the top offensive minds in the NFL.

The HQ wonders if we'll get any of this...???

Because, after all, he's trying to win...
Ah well, you know the rest...
((HT: NFL/NFL Network/youtube))


Elsewhere, ex-San Francisco head coach Mike Singletary is joining former teammate Leslie Frazier on his staff in Minnesota.

Singletary told ESPN 1000 in Chicago during a radio interview earlier in the day he's coming to Minnesota. He'll be linebackers coach and assistant head coach...

He and Frazier were part of the "Monsters of the Midway" defense...
All that does is give the HQ the excuse to post DJStevePorter's "Press Hop 2"
((HT: DJStevePorter))

BREAKING: Frazier Is New Vikes HC

((HT: Star-Tribune/Zulgad))

Thankfully, according to Minnesota Vikings beat writer Judd Zulgad, Leslie Frazier has been given the head coahing job in Minnesota...

An announcement is expected Monday or Tuesday. According to Zulgad, Frazier will get a deal in the neighborhood of three years.

Frazier is 3-2 since taking over for Brad Childress on November 22nd...

The HQ is pleased...

Here's an interview Frazier held with MyFoxTwinCities Jim Rich from a few weeks ago as a primer...

Vikings Coach Leslie Frazier 1-on-1 Interview: MyFoxTWINCITIES.com

BRREAKING NEWS: Happy Thanksgiving Brad Childress...you're fired!

Brad Childress/Courtesy: allaroundphilly.com

We'll, I guess the story we wrote a couple of hours ago is kinda pointless now, isn't it? To the surprise of few, the Minnesota Vikings announced this afternoon that they've fired head coach Brad Childress.

Childress's replacement, defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, a man who should've been a head coach long before today.

Childress's departure comes on the heels of a humiliating 31-3 loss to Green Bay, one of many humiliations the Vikings have suffered this season. That dropped them to 3-7 and likely out of playoff contention. Something that surprised many pundits who assumed they were one game away from the Super Bowl last year and have Brett Favre, so they must be a Super Bowl team. Wrong again!

Oh and did we mention that he's fought most of season with Favre, through mostly the press and his players openly talked of how he's lost the locker room. And then there was the Randy Moss incident, one in which honestly, he probably made the right move for his team, but was blasted because of the way he did it. No, PR was not his best suit.

Vikings owner Zygi Wilf and Leslie Frazier will meet with the assembled media at 4pm eastern today. We'll try and update this story with video from that, later this afternoon.

In the meantime...enjoy some Chilly Willy:



Here's Rob Olsen, from our friends at MyFoxTwinCities, with a novel idea for a fan reaction piece... he went to the airport to ask unsuspecting fans who just landed what they think about it...


Well played, Rob...

Oh, and it took about four minutes for Tony Dungy to say he's not interested...

Here's Chilly's statement:

"The past five years have been a tremendous experience for my family and I as the Head Coach of the Minnesota Vikings. I have a great respect for the players and coaches who I have worked with and for their dedication to each other and to the organization. I am proud of our accomplishments and believe the foundation of this football team is stronger today than when I became Head Coach in 2006. I appreciate the opportunity that Zygi, Mark, and the whole Wilf family afforded me and wish them success as they move forward."

No Mora JL... Out After One Year In Seattle...Carroll Interested...???

((HT: Seattle Post-Intelligencer))

So much for that whole "ringing endorsement" thing...

Seattle Seahawks CEO Tod Leiweke backed Mora six weeks ago when general manager Tim Ruskell stepped down in midseason.

But, when you lose your last four, you have no offense, and you're not generally liked, we get this... Jim Mora, Junior ((pictured yelling thanks, Stephen Dunn/Getty)) is out as Seattle head coach after a 5-11 season...

Jay Glazer of FOX Sports gets the HT on this one. He says the team has already gotten permission to interview assistant coaches from other teams.

Glazer lists Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier as a likely candidate, among others.

Apparently, Mora sent a text to KJR-AM 950's Dave "Softy" Mahler confirming that he had been fired...

Until we know more, here's some post-season SOTs from Mora on the future- before he got canned...
((HT: 1340AM KWLE))


The official release from the Seahawks says in part:

“This team, more importantly this community, means so much to me that it hurts not being able to see this through,” said Mora. “I am disappointed I did not get the chance to complete my contract. This is a tough business that sometimes demands immediate gratification.”

AFTERNOON UPDATE: Chris Mortensen is mentioning that current USC head coach Pete Carroll has shown interest and wants to bring Trojans OC Jeremy Bates with him to Seattle. Bates is also being courted by the Chicago Bears.

Mortensen, in a conversation with someone close to Carroll disclosed: "You're about to see a big headline that shakes up the major college football word," in reference to the Seahawks' development. The Seahawks did not confirm Carroll as a leading candidate but also did not deny it.

Also, Frazier, it is reported, has declined an interview opportunity with the Seahawks. Technically, he can't go through with one until the Vikings season is complete. He could talk with the Buffalo Bills last week since Minnesota was on a bye week.