ESPN Complete Deal: Seahawks Head Coach Lands With Three Talented Super Bowl experience…
SEATTLE — The Seahawks plan to hire former Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier as their assistant head coach, a source confirmed to ESPN on Friday.
Frazier becomes the first assistant known to be hired to coach Mike Macdonald’s staff. The two will reunite in Seattle after coaching together with the Baltimore Ravens in 2016, when Macdonald had the title of defensive assistant and Frazier was the secondary coach.
Macdonald, hired Wednesday after spending the past two seasons as Baltimore’s defensive coordinator, is the NFL’s youngest head coach at 36. Frazier, 64, brings over two decades of NFL coaching experience to Seattle. He has been a defensive coordinator for four teams, most recently filling that role for the Bills from 2017 to 2022 while also holding the title of assistant head coach from 2020 to 2022.
Frazier was the Minnesota Vikings’ head coach from 2011 to 2013. He did not coach in 2023.
During his introductory news conference Thursday, Macdonald said he plans to call defensive plays at first and eventually hand over those duties to a coordinator.
Former Ravens linebackers coach Zachary Orr was a candidate to fill that role on Macdonald’s staff before Baltimore promoted him to defensive coordinator, a source told ESPN.
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Super Bowl picks: Experts predict 49ers-Chiefs score, MVP
Only one game remains in the 2023 NFL season. The San Francisco 49ers will face off against the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII. Which team will take home the Lombardi Trophy? Which player will win Super Bowl MVP?
We asked ESPN’s NFL analysts, writers, commentators, columnists and pundits to make predictions for the big game. More than 60 experts picked the winner of 49ers-Chiefs, the final score of the game and who they think will earn the Super Bowl MVP Award.
Here’s a breakdown of how they picked, plus betting odds from ESPN BET. Check out all of our Super Bowl preview content for more news and analysis ahead of the big game.
Of the 64 experts who weighed in, the Chiefs were favored by 49 of them (76.6%), while the 49ers claimed 15 votes (23.4%).
The most common predicted final scores were 27-24 (picked by eight of our experts) and 27-21 (picked by seven of our experts). The lowest combined total was 37 (20-17). The highest combined score was 64 (34-30). The largest margin of victory predicted was 20 points (34-14). And 52 of the experts said this game will be decided by a touchdown or less.
Betting notes: ESPN BET currently favors San Francisco by 1.5 points. The over/under is 47.5 points at ESPN BET. Of the experts in this pool, 52 have the game going over that total, while 12 like the under.
ESPN’s Football Power Index: FPI likes the 49ers (59.4%) by an average of 3.1 points.
Alaina Getzenberg, Bills reporter: 27-24
Alden Gonzalez, writer: 31-27
Ben Baby, Bengals reporter: 34-14
Brooke Pryor, Steelers reporter: 27-24
Courtney Cronin, Bears reporter: 31-28
Dan Graziano, national NFL reporter: 20-17
Dan Orlovsky, NFL analyst: 24-21
David Newton, Panthers reporter: 32-27
David Purdum, sports betting reporter: 31-23
Elizabeth Merrill, writer: 31-28
Eric Karabell, NFL fantasy analyst: 34-17
Eric N. Moody, NFL fantasy analyst: 31-28
Eric Woodyard, Lions reporter: 23-20
Erin Dolan, sports betting analyst: 24-20
Field Yates, NFL analyst: 27-24
Jake Trotter, Browns reporter: 28-24
Jason Reid, Andscape senior NFL writer: 34-17
Jeff Legwold, Broncos reporter: 28-23
Jenna Laine, Buccaneers reporter: 28-24
John Buccigross, commentator: 29-28
Jordan Raanan, Giants reporter: 23-17
Jordan Reid, NFL draft analyst: 27-24
Josh Weinfuss, Cardinals reporter: 33-24
Kevin Seifert, Vikings reporter: 31-26
Kris Rhim, Chargers reporter: 27-23
Lindsey Thiry, national NFL reporter: 28-25
Liz Loza, NFL fantasy analyst: 24-23
Marcel Louis-Jacques, Dolphins reporter: 27-21
Marcus Spears, NFL analyst: 28-24
Matt Bowen, NFL analyst: 27-23
Matt Miller, NFL draft analyst: 28-24
Michael DiRocco, Jaguars reporter: 27-21
Michael Rothstein, Falcons reporter: 27-23
Mike Reiss, Patriots reporter: 31-21
Mike Tannenbaum, NFL analyst: 31-21
Mina Kimes, NFL analyst: 27-24
Paul Gutierrez, Raiders reporter: 27-21
Rex Ryan, NFL analyst: 31-24
Rich Cimini, Jets reporter: 31-24
Rob Demovsky, Packers reporter: 27-24
Robert Griffin III, NFL analyst: 31-21
Sal Paolantonio, national NFL reporter: 30-20
Sarah Barshop, Rams reporter: 31-24
Stephen Holder, Colts reporter: 24-21
Tedy Bruschi, NFL analyst: 24-21
Tim Hasselbeck, NFL analyst: 27-17
Tim McManus, Eagles reporter: 34-30
Tristan H. Cockcroft, NFL fantasy analyst: 27-21
Turron Davenport, Titans reporter: 27-21
