Minnesota Vikings: 10 Benefits for Vikings Staff to Coach the Senior Bowl

Leslie Frazier and the Minnesota Vikings coaching staff have been given the opportunity to coach the North team in the 62nd Senior Bowl on Jan. 28 at Ladd Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala. 

Last season, the Vikings drafted four players from the game, including quarterback Christian Ponder, who was the game's MVP as he led the South to a 24-10 victory over the North.

Other former 2011 Senior Bowl players drafted by the Vikings include defensive tackle Christian Ballard and offensive linemen DeMarcus Love and Brandon Fusco.  According to the official website for the Senior Bowl, the Vikings have 19 former Senior Bowl players on their roster.

This is only the second time for the Vikings coaches to be at the Senior Bowl, and for Frazier and his staff, it will be difficult to replicate the same result. 

The last time the Vikings coaches were involved in the Senior Bowl was in 1980, when Bud Grant led the North to a resounding 57-3 victory—the most points ever scored in the history of the game and the greatest margin of victory.

For the coaching staffs, it's an opportunity to get a little better look at some of the game's best seniors before the upcoming draft.

For the Vikings, this upcoming draft is crucial. With the third pick in the draft, they should get an impact player that can help improve over their 3-13 record.

The last time the Vikings were this bad, they drafted Chris Doleman with the fourth pick in the 1985 draft—the last time the Vikings had a draft pick this high.

While it might seem a dubious honor to coach the Senior Bowl, especially since of late it appears a prerequisite is a losing record, there are plenty of benefits for the Vikings.

Here's a look at 10 benefits the Vikings coaching staff will have.

It's Another Chance to Gain Some Coaching Experience

Sure Leslie Frazier has been coaching for 24 seasons, since he became the first head coach at Trinity College in Illinois in 1988. He built the NAIA program from the ground up.

In 1997, after nine seasons, he left Trinity to become the defensive backs coach for the University of Illinois.

It would be more than 12 years before he would be the man in charge again, taking over as the Vikings interim head coach in Week 12 of the 2010 season.

Frazier only has 22 games under his belt as a head coach in the NFL, and while these players in the Senior Bowl are not technically NFL players yet, it will still be good experience for him.

Since taking over the Vikings, Frazier has not conducted a full training camp, a mini-camp or even an OTA as a head coach.

With a week to practice and put together a game plan for these NFL hopefuls, Frazier will gain some valuable experience.

Leslie Frazier and His Staff Will Get a Chance to Coach Talent

The Minnesota Vikings coaching staff should get the opportunity to see what talented football players are like.

The only reason players like Lorenzo Booker and Benny Sapp saw as much NFL action this season as they did was because of injuries to the Vikings defensive backfield and knee injuries to Adrian Peterson and Toby Gerhart.

Booker, claimed from the Hartford Colonials, should still be in the UFL, and Sapp had not played since the first week of the 2011 NFL season, when he was released by the Miami Dolphins, before the Vikings signed him in the middle of the season.

Some of the announced players for the Senior Bowl include quarterbacks Ryan Tannehill from Texas A&M, Russell Wilson from Wisconsin and Kellen Moore from Boise State. According to Waltersfootball.com, these are the third, 10th and 11th best quarterbacks in the draft.

Two of the top 10 projected wide receivers in the draft, Kendell Wright from Baylor and Nick Toon from Wisconsin, will play in the game. 

Mike Adams, a top offensive tackle from Ohio State, is on the early roster, as is cornerback Casey Hayward from Vanderbilt.

Leslie Frazier Can Test Drive Mike Singletary at Defensive Coordinator

The Minnesota Vikings have some holes to fill within their defensive coaching staff.

Somewhat surprisingly, after leading the league in sacks, gone is Karl Dunbar, the defensive line coach. Perhaps it was the drop to 11th place against the run, yielding an average of 107 yards per game that spelled his doom.

There are reports that defensive coordinator Fred Pagac is next to be fired, and one of the candidates to replace him is Mike Singletary. 

If head coach Leslie Frazier hasn't chosen Pagac's replacement by then, it would be a great opportunity to assess how Singletary does as the defensive coordinator, with only a week of practice to put together a game plan.

Offensive Coordinator Bill Musgrave Gets More Time with a Rookie QB

In 2008, Bill Musgrave was the Atlanta Falcons quarterback coach. That season, the Falcons drafted Matt Ryan with the third pick in the draft.

Under Musgrave's tutiledge, Ryan led the Falcons to an 11-5 record. Ryan was selected the NFL AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, as well as selected to play in the Pro Bowl.

Musgrave did not have as much success with Christian Ponder, the Vikings' first-round draft pick this past season. Last year's Senior Bowl MVP, Ponder was only 2-8 after taking over for Donovan McNabb in Week 7.

With the chance to participate in the Senior Bowl, Musgrave will have the opportunity to coach a couple more young quarterbacks, even if only for one week. 

Chances are, Musgrave will have the chance to coach Wisconsin's Russell Wilson and Boise State's Kellen Moore. 

Leslie Frazier and His Staff Might Find a Diamond in the Rough

For many players participating in the Senior Bowl, it's a chance to improve their position in the draft.

For some, like Brandon Fusco from Slippery Rock—whom the Vikings drafted in the sixth round last year—it's a chance to prove they can play in the NFL.

With an entire week to observe and prepare these players for the Senior Bowl, they will get an idea of how coach-able they are and if any of these young men are head cases.

The Vikings Can Experiment with Their Playcalling

With the exception of the occasional end-around to Percy Harvin, I found the Vikings' offensive play calling to be predictable and boring.

How many times did offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave use a single wide receiver set with two tight ends and Adrian Peterson in the backfield with a fullback in front of him, then motion the receiver to the line and then hand the ball of the Peterson? This essentially pulled 10 defenders into the box, bottling things up and making it difficult for Peterson to bust through. 

Leslie Frazier and their staff will have to quickly assess the talent they have and put together a game plan that will showcase the talent of these NFL hopefuls.

With any luck, they'll put together an entertaining game plan with some creativity.  

The Vikings Coaching Staff Will Get Some Face Time with the Players

This will be a great opportunity for the Minnesota Vikings to get an up-close-and-personal look at some of the top prospects in the draft.

While there will be representative from all 32 teams watching the practices during the week, Leslie Frazier and his staff will be interacting with the players, getting an idea how well they take direction and how quickly they pick things up.

Those Players Drafted Will Come into Camp with a Head Start.

The Vikings obviously have a high opinion of those players who participated in the Senior Bowl.

According to the official website for the Senior Bowl, Minnesota has 19 former players on their roster.

Last season, they drafted Christian Ponder, the Senior Bowl MVP, along with defensive tackle Christian Ballard and offensive linemen DeMarcus Love and Brandon Fusco.

If the trend continues, any Senior Bowl players from the North Team will have an idea what to expect from Leslie Frazier and his coaching staff when they attend minicamps and training camp.

This might not make much of a difference in the long term, but it might just be the little difference that gives one of these players an edge over other draftees or rookie free agents trying to make the squad.

Coaching in the Senior Bowl Means More Wins

There is the benefit of winning more games the season following coaching the Senior Bowl.

I looked at the records for both teams whose coaches participated in the Senior Bowl over the last 10 years. On average, they picked up 2.2 wins the following season.

Sure, that doesn't sound like much, but as bad as the Vikings were in 2011, I'll take every extra win they can get.

Leslie Frazier Will Get Another Shot at Mike Shanahan

Leslie Frazier is 6-16 as the Minnesota Vikings head coach.

Two of those victories have come at the expense of Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan.

Shanahan and the Washington Redskins coaching staff will be coaching the South team in the Senior Bowl.

So what if this is only the Senior Bowl and the result means little in the grand scheme of things?

It's still another chance for Frazier to get a victory.