Hartman: Wilf says Frazier will be back next year

Vikings owner Zygi Wilf made it clear on Sunday that Leslie Frazier will return as coach next season despite the team's record falling to 2-10 with the 35-32 loss to the Denver Broncos.

"Leslie will definitely be back next year," Wilf said.

Wilf also said there might be some evaluation of the coaching staff, but he indicated that he didn't see any changes happening unless Frazier asked for changes.

The media have been pushing for Wilf to name a full-time general manager for the Vikings, but if Wilf is planning to make any changes in the football administrative staff headed by Rick Spielman, he didn't say. He has said he is satisfied with the way the football operation is being run.

Wilf realizes that the absence of star running back Adrian Peterson for most of the past three games has hurt the team's chance of winning.

Wilf blamed other injuries for a lot of the Vikings' problems, and it is his belief that now that the team has an established quarterback in Christian Ponder, other holes can be filled through the draft and free agency or by getting players healthy.

Meanwhile, Wilf continues to hope that the Legislature will find a way to build a new stadium for the Vikings. He has been encouraged by some of the moves recently.

Harvin shinesTwo former University of Florida teammates -- Percy Harvin and Tim Tebow -- were on display Sunday, and both put on a show.

Harvin may have had his best day as a pro, catching eight passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns. One of the touchdown receptions was 52 yards, the other 48, as Harvin proved he is the best wide receiver in the NFL.

"Offensively, we played a pretty solid game," said Harvin, who missed two days of practice last week and credited Ponder for his big day.

"I take my hat off to Christian," he said. "A lot of that is just him. If I'm not out there in practice and not running routes, he's just going off of his confidence and the confidence he has in me. So my hat's off to everybody who keeps preparing."

About his college teammate Tebow, Harvin said: "He won the battle. I played with him, he's a great leader and a great teammate, and he led his team to a 'W' today. We'd like to come away with the win, but we had some problems with things."

Yes, the Vikings might not win a game the rest of the way, not with the worst secondary in the NFL and Peterson sitting out.

Homecoming for DeckerFormer Gopher Eric Decker, who was tied for fourth in the NFL with eight receiving touchdowns before Sunday's game, had only four passes thrown to him Sunday. He caught two for a total of 25 yards.

It was a great homecoming for Decker, who had a ton of fans on hand.

"Our mentality is if it's close in the fourth, we're going to find a way to win," Decker said. "No matter how it gets done. That's what we've been doing."

He described Tebow as a miracle worker.

"He brings a positive attitude, and his optimism has rubbed off on guys," Decker said.

Decker said the Broncos must play better on offense.

"It just comes down to execution," he said. "We had some penalties, and you can't do that stuff. It kills you. That's something we have to stress in practice and get better at and get a quicker start so we can take some pressure off the defense."

Vikings need helpBrian Billick, the former Vikings offensive coordinator and Baltimore head coach, did the color commentary on the Vikings telecast for a second consecutive week, and he believes the Vikings need some help.

"Well, they need an outside presence at receiver," Billick said. "[Devin] Aromashodu looked good today, but obviously they need a little bit of that.

"Defensively, they're getting a little older. Their secondary is getting banged up, and they probably need to address that."

Billick said the secondary problems are especially notable.

"They were patient in what they did with their eight-man front to keep Tebow from running the ball, but there were three or four breaks in the secondary where they had broken coverages," he said. "They had some big plays down the field that obviously were mental breakdowns. They've got a lot of new guys in there."

Praises TebowVikings defensive end Jared Allen talked about how Tebow hit the open receivers.

"The one good play I thought he had was, he extended the play out to our right and cut up underneath me, and as he was going out of bounds he hits a guy," Allen said. "But again, the guy's wide open. But he's an athlete. I don't know, he's obviously a winner."

As usual, Allen hated losing.

"It's the toughest thing ever," he said. "You prepare all week and you think you're going to win the game, and you squander it.

"You know, the way I look at it is, if you're on the field I need your best. And you know, that will be the coaches' job to evaluate that and put the people in where they're supposed to be.

"We'll try to get this one behind us and go beat Detroit."

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. and on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. • shartman@startribune.com