Leslie Frazier stood in the spotlight 40 years ago as a starting cornerback on the 1985 Chicago Bears, widely regarded as the greatest defense in NFL history.
Now, before Super Bowl 60, the Seattle Seahawks assistant head coach sees similarities between that legendary Bears team and Seattle’s locker room.
Leslie Frazier Reveals ‘Similarity’ Between Seahawks and ’85 Bears
“The similarity between that team and this team is the connectedness of that team,” Frazier said in an exclusive interview with PFSN.
He pointed to a moment that captured what made the 1985 Bears special, a bond that transcended decades. During the Bears’ 40-year anniversary celebration at a Monday Night Football game, Frazier sat at his desk in Seattle preparing for an opponent when his phone rang. Ron Rivera, his former teammate, FaceTimed him from inside the stadium as his former teammates walked onto the field.
“He pulls up the phone and he’s FaceTiming me as they’re getting ready to walk into the stadium and to the applause of the fans, and I see Gary Fencik and Emery Moorehead and these guys, they’re saying, ‘Leslie, Leslie, you’re with us, man! Look, you’re with us!'” Frazier recalled. “And they’re walking in the stadium, showing me that. I mean, you’re talking about a humbling moment that they were remembering me during that time.”
That connectedness defined the 1985 Bears, a team loaded with personalities as big as their talent. Frazier remembers Jim McMahon mooning helicopters during practice in New Orleans and wearing headbands with the name of NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle.
“We had some big personalities,” Frazier said. “Just a wild group. And then having a guy like ‘The Refrigerator’ or a head coach like Mike Ditka, just big personalities, but also a very talented football team.”
Frazier led that Bears defense with 6 interceptions during their 15-1 regular season. His career ended in the second quarter of Super Bowl 20 when he suffered a devastating knee injury returning a punt, but the championship ring and the relationships survived.
The Seahawks don’t have McMahon’s antics or Ditka’s volcanic presence. What they do have, according to Frazier, is the same bond and camaraderie behind the scenes.
Mike Macdonald hired Frazier as one of his first calls after becoming Seattle’s head coach in January 2024. The 66-year-old brings two-and-a-half decades of NFL coaching experience, including stints as defensive coordinator with four teams and head coach of the Minnesota Vikings from 2010-13. But his value to this Seahawks team extends beyond Xs and Os.
Seattle finished 14-3 in the regular season, earning the NFC’s top seed for the first time since 2014. The defense allowed an NFL-low 292 points, and they ranked third in PFSN’s Defense Impact Metric.
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The offense, led by Sam Darnold’s connection with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, ranked third in scoring at 483 points. In playoff wins over the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams, Seattle put up 30-plus points twice in a postseason for the first time in franchise history.
Frazier has watched championship teams from both sides. He won Super Bowl 20 as a player with the Bears and Super Bowl 41 as a coach on Indianapolis’ staff (defeating his former team). He knows what separates contenders from champions.
“Just so grateful 40 years later to be in this position,” Frazier said. “It’s just amazing when you think about it.”
The Seahawks face the Patriots on Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. If Frazier’s comparison holds, if Seattle’s connectedness mirrors what made the 1985 Bears endure, the Seahawks will walk off the field with more than a trophy. They’ll have built something that lasts 40 years.
