Two people with knowledge of the hire say veteran NFL coach Leslie Frazier is expected to join the Seattle Seahawks as an associate head coach.

The relative lack of minority-race coaches in prominent leadership roles has been a long-running problem for the NFL.

Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, who is taking the year off, is among 40 diverse coaching candidates who will participate in the Coach Accelerator program next week at the NFL’s spring meetings.

The Buffalo Bills say defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier is taking a year off from coaching but plans to return for the 2024 season.

The Chiefs have two coaches on their staff that have been head coaches in defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and quarterbacks coach Matt Nagy.

Leslie Frazier expected another opportunity to be a head coach in the NFL after a three-year-plus stint in Minnesota from 2010-13.

(AP Photo)The NFL expanded the Rooney Rule to give more minority candidates opportunities to become a head coach and reward teams who develop them. The Houston Texans hired David Culley this week, making the 65-year-old longtime assistant the league’s third Black head coach hired. Culley and Saleh join Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin, Miami’s Brian Flores and Washington’s Ron Rivera as the league’s only minority head coaches. “We didn’t make as much progress on the head coaching side as we would have liked,” Rooney said. AdPerhaps an increase in minority executives will lead to more minority head coaches.

FILE - This is an Aug. 17, 2020, file photo showing David Culley of the Baltimore Ravens NFL football team. David Culley has been hired as the coach of the Houston Texans, a person familiar with the hiring told The Associated Press. (AP Photo)HOUSTON – David Culley became the coach of the Houston Texans believing Deshaun Watson would be his quarterback. “We have added a very well respected and experienced member to our Texans' family in our new head coach, David Culley," McNair said. The 65-year-old Culley becomes the fourth coach in Texans history, replacing Bill O’Brien, who was fired after the team opened the season 0-4.

But all are credited with providing a steady helping hand, a sturdy shoulder and a willing ear to their team’s current head coach. PETTINEPettine went 10-22 (.313) as head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 2014-15, before joining Matt LaFleur, who was named Packers head coach in 2018 after just two seasons as an offensive coordinator, a year each with the Rams and Titans. Arians brought along Bowles, whom he coached at Temple in the mid-1980s and who had been his defensive coordinator in Arizona from 2013-14. It began with Frazier saying he didn’t want McDermott to make the same mistakes he did as a first-time head coach. It’s a business with a lot of egos, a lot of people concerned with who gets the credit.”SPAGNUOLOSpagnuolo, 61, compiled an 11-41 record (.212) as head coach of the St. Louis Rams from 2009-11 and as interim head coach of the New York Giants in 2017, when he went 1-3.

The Kansas City Chiefs won their first NFL title since 1970 when they beat San Francisco in last year's Super Bowl. What we get Sunday is a matchup of dynamic offenses and overlooked defenses, the top two teams in the conference. Kansas City (15-2) has the confidence of a reigning champion and a charisma few NFL teams can match. That could provide an edge over Bills rookie Tyler Bass — except that Bass has been very reliable all season. Buffalo punter Corey Bojorquez and Kansas City rookie Johnny Townsend were two of the most dependable in the AFC.

Buffalo Bills' Micah Hyde (23) celebrates with teammates after an NFL divisional round football game against the Baltimore Ravens Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Leslie Frazier’s faith in his Bills defense never wavered even at the lowest point of Buffalo’s season. It was mid-November and the Bills were entering their bye week on the heels of a 32-30 defeat at Arizona. In the NFC, the Packers are allowing an average 306 yards offense over their past seven outings. Here comes Patrick Mahomes, should he clear the NFL’s concussion protocol, and the league’s top-ranked offense.