Bills DC Leslie Frazier a 'name to watch' for Colts HC job

Some within the Indianapolis Colts organization may already be looking toward the Buffalo Bills while thinking about life beyond the tenure of interim head coach Jeff Saturday. 

"Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier has been brought up to me by more than one person lately as a name to watch for the Indianapolis Colts' head-coaching position once the season is over," ESPN's Dan Graziano reported for a piece published Wednesday. "Frazier has an ally in (former Colts coach) Tony Dungy, whose word carries some weight in Indy. 

"Frazier is a former head coach who has administered one of the league's best defenses for several years now and likely deserves another chance. The questions in Indy would be who's going to play quarterback and who's going to run the offense. But Frazier certainly has a plan in place for the latter, and it's the organization's job to figure out the former." 

Dungy spoke highly of Saturday last month when the former ESPN analyst who was controversially named the replacement for Frank Reich held a 1-0 record with the Colts. Since that time, Indianapolis has dropped three straight to fall to 4-8-1 on the campaign. 

Last winter, Frazier interviewed with the New York Giants for their head-coaching position after the Giants hired ex-Bills assistant general manager Joe Schoen as their general manager. New York eventually hired then-Buffalo offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. 

Per ESPN stats, the Bills' defense ranks 10th in average yards allowed per game (320.2) and fourth with an average of 17.4 points surrendered per contest this season. 

Eyebrows were raised when the Fritz Pollard Alliance announced last month it had "initiated an inquiry with the NFL" regarding the Colts naming Saturday interim head coach at a time when he possessed no coaching experience at the pro or college levels. Meeting with Frazier, who is Black, this coming winter would be a positive step toward the Colts complying with the Rooney Rule that requires franchises to interview a minimum of two minority candidates for head-coaching jobs.