BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier is a candidate for the Buffalo Bills' head-coaching job and scheduled to interview with the team Thursday.
Without saying where the meeting will take place, Vikings coach Brad Childress confirmed in an e-mail to The Associated Press on Wednesday that Frazier will interview with the Bills. Frazier becomes the second person to formally interview for the job after Bills interim head coach Perry Fewellhad a four-hour session with general manager Buddy Nix on Monday.
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Buffalo (6-10) missed the playoffs for a 10th consecutive season and is searching for its fourth coach in the last 10 years after Dick Jauron was fired in November.
The interview with Frazier will take place during the Vikings' week off before they prepare to open the playoffs against the Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers or Arizona Cardinals on Jan. 17. Under NFL rules, the two sides will not be able to meet again until the Vikings are eliminated or reach the Super Bowl.
Should the Vikings qualify for the Super Bowl, the Bills would be allowed to talk to Frazier during the week following the NFC Championship Game.
Frazier is in his 11th NFL season as coach and third with the Vikings. He has been credited with overseeing a stout defense that has ranked sixth in the league in yards allowed the past two seasons. He joined the Vikings after being a defensive backs coach with the Indianapolis Colts, with whom he also served as a special assistant to coach Tony Dungy.
This isn't the first time that Frazier has been pegged as a head-coaching candidate. He spent two days interviewing with the St. Louis Rams last year and also was a finalist for the Detroit Lions' opening a year ago. In 2008, he interviewed for the Miami Dolphins' vacancy.
Frazier is a former cornerback who played with the Bears from 1981 to 1986 and was a starter on Chicago's star-studded 1985 defense that carried the team to a Super Bowl title.
Frazier has been mentioned as a potential candidate in Buffalo for the past week, even though the Bills prefer someone with previous head-coaching experience. The Bills also are interested in former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher, though it's unclear whether the two sides have held significant discussions.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press