"One of the most disappointing seasons in the Vikings' 50-year history might have come to an end Sunday with a 20-13 loss to the Lions at Ford Field, but team officials will have some busy days ahead.

The Star Tribune has confirmed interim coach Leslie Frazier is the team's first choice to take over the job on a permanent basis and, barring a late breakdown in talks, Frazier should be introduced as the eighth coach in franchise history early this week.

Owner Zygi Wilf declined to comment Sunday as he left the Vikings locker room, and Frazier would only say that he would talk to ownership on Sunday night or Monday to find out in which direction things were headed. "Nothing has been solidified, but we're going to talk further," Frazier said.

Frazier would have plenty of work ahead of him after a Vikings team that entered the season with Super Bowl aspirations and Brett Favre at quarterback finished 6-10 and in last place in its division for the first time since the 1990 season.

Favre, 41, did not play Sunday because of a concussion that sidelined him for a second consecutive game. Afterward, he said again that his 20-year Hall of Fame career was finished. "It's time, I know it's time," Favre said.

The Vikings and Lions both finished with 6-10 records in the NFC North, but because they split the season series the next tiebreaker was division record, and Detroit went 2-4 compared to the Vikings' 1-5.

"It's not an enviable position at all," Frazier said. "It's a position that I don't know when the last time the Vikings were in this position. But the one thing you have to do is step back, take a look at it and say, 'What do we have to do to not be in this position again?' This is the reality of the situation.

"This is where our season finished. So now what do you do about it, and that's what we'll have to figure out this offseason."

Frazier guided the Vikings to a 3-3 record after taking over for Brad Childress on Nov. 22, a day after Childress was fired following a 31-3 loss to Green Bay at the Metrodome. The Vikings have been acting quickly in making a decision on Frazier in part because of the number of head coaching jobs that could open up Monday as teams decide to make changes."