- In a piece that is well worth a read, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press chronicles Matt Patricia‘s rise from a low-level assistant in New England to Lions head coach, a rise that was accelerated in 2012 when Detroit GM Bob Quinn — then the director of pro scouting with the Patriots — heard Patricia deliver a poignant speech to New England coaches and players about the recently-deceased Junior Seau.
- Staying with special teams, the Lions are not going to overhaul their ST staff as they did their defensive coaching contingent. ST coordinator Joe Marciano and assistant ST coach Devin Fitzimmons will return next season, Alex Marvez of the Sporting News reports. An NFL special teams coach since 1986, Marciano has been with the Lions since 2015.
- Detroit continued to configure its defensive staff on Thursday, hiring Bo Davis to instruct its defensive linemen, the team announced. Davis will join the Lions after spending most of the past two decades on Nick Saban‘s staffs at LSU, the Dolphins and Alabama. However, Davis’ Crimson Tide tenure — one that included coaching current Lions lineman A’Shawn Robinson, ended in 2016 when he resigned from Alabama due to NCAA violations. Davis, however, resurfaced at Texas-San Antonio last season and coached first-round defensive end hopeful Marcus Davenport.
The Lions made a big change on the sidelines this year, but they’re going to maintain stability in the front office. On Friday, the Lions announced an extension for GM Bob Quinn.
“The contract extension for Bob is most deserving as he continues to lead and improve our football team,” team president Rod Wood said in a press release. “It is also important for our entire organization to ensure stability as we move forward with Matt as our new head coach working in partnership with Bob. Moreover, I greatly enjoy my relationship and partnership with Bob. We both look forward to a bright future for the Detroit Lions.”
The team did not disclose the exact terms of the deal, though the announcement says that “the extension matches the term of head coach Matt Patricia’s new deal with the team.” It is believed that Patricia’s deal goes through the 2022 season, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (on Twitter). This through-2022 timeline matches Matthew Stafford‘s extension as well.
Quinn, a longtime scout/exec for the Patriots, was hired as the Lions’ GM in January of 2016. He made his first official head-coaching hire this week in appointing Patricia to the post. Predecessor Martin Mayhew hired Jim Caldwell, with whom Quinn worked for two seasons before firing him after the 2017 campaign, but the Quinn/Patricia partnership will be the biggest chance yet to gauge the current exec’s imprint on the franchise.
The Lions now have their quarterback, HC and GM in place for the long haul and will begin work on crafting a strategy aimed at ending a lengthy drought. Detroit’s most recent playoff win came in Barry Sanders‘ third season, 1991. Caldwell’s teams twice made the playoffs, with the 2014 Lions’ effort in Dallas coming closer to victory than the ’16 version did in Seattle, but postseason advancement has eluded the franchise for a generation.
Dean Pees‘ retirement from the Ravens didn’t last long as he became the Titans’ defensive coordinator less than a month later. The about-face took Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti by surprise.
“I’m a little shocked,” Bisciotti said (via Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com). “He’s 68 years old. It’s hard to give it up, I guess.”
Bisciotti didn’t come right out and say it, but it sounds like Pees went to the Titans in part because they were willing to employ his son, Matt Pees, as a quality control coach.
“I wish Dean all the luck,” Bisciotti said. “I understand he got his son in; I think that was a big point of his. We have a nepotism rule that may have prohibited that from happening in the last few years.”
Here’s more from the coaching world:
- Following Carnell Lake‘s resignation from the position of Steelers secondary coach, Pittsburgh’s brass reached into the college ranks to fill the post. UCLA defensive coordinator Tom Bradley will leave Los Angeles to become the Steelers’ new DBs boss, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Bradley is a Pennsylvania native who spent 33 seasons on Joe Paterno’s staff — from 1979-2011. He coached the Bruins’ defense for the past three years. The 61-year-old Bradley will be on an NFL sideline for the first time come 2018.
- In addition to formally announcing former Boston College defensive line coach Paul Pasqualoni as their new defensive coordinator and keeping Jim Bob Cooter on as offensive coordinator, the Lions have also named several other members of new head coach Matt Patricia‘s staff. Chris White has been hired as Detroit’s tight ends coach, while former Miami head coach Al Golden will remain on staff as the club’s linebackers coach (he’d previously coached tight ends). Most of White’s experience has come at the collegiate level, but he did serve as the Vikings’ assistant special teams coach from 2009-12. The Lions also officially announced several other coaching hires that had been previously reported, including George Godsey (quarterbacks), Jeff Davidson (offensive line), and Brian Stewart (defensive backs), plus one that hadn’t in David Corrao (director of football research).
- A 49ers defensive assistant for the past three years, former NFL DC Jason Tarver will become a coach outside of California for the first time in his 20-plus-year career. Tarver agreed to take the defensive coordinator job at Vanderbilt, per Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. The Raiders’ DC from 2012-14, Tarver enjoyed two stints with the 49ers — the first from 2001-10. He coached alongside current Vanderbilt HC Derek Mason in 2011 at Stanford.
- Speaking of the Commodores, the SEC program also announced former Browns assistant Shawn Mennenga will oversee Vandy’s special teams units in 2018 (Twitter link). The Browns let Menneaga walk after he served seven seasons under previous ST coordinator Chris Tabor.
Sam Robinson contributed to this report.
The Lions have a new head coach, but they’re not shaking up the entire staff. During his introductory press conference on Wednesday, Matt Patricia confirmed that offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter will be staying on board (Twitter link via Justin Rogers of The Detroit News). 
Cooter missed out on becoming the Lions’ new head coach, but he’ll remain on board as the offensive play caller. Given Patricia’s defensive background, one has to imagine that Cooter will continue to have a high degree of control over his side of the ball.
The 33-year-old has long been viewed as a rising star in the coaching ranks, but the results have not been tremendous in his two full seasons as Detroit’s OC. Under his command, the Lions’ offense ranked 15th in DVOA in 2016 and 17th in 2017. On the plus side, he has a strong working relationship with Matthew Stafford and he offers consistency during a time of significant change.
On Wednesday, the Lions officially named Paul Pasqualoni as their new defensive coordinator.
The Lions have named Paul Pasqualoni as their new defensive coordinator. The team announced the hire in a press release on Wednesday morning. 
Recently, it was reported that Pasqualoni was in line for a prominent job on the Lions’ staff, but no one knew what his position would be. As it turns out, he’ll be the DC under new head coach Matt Patricia. Of course, given Patricia’s background as the Patriots’ DC, Pasqualoni is unlikely to be the one calling plays.
Pasqualoni, 68, has moved between the NFL and NCAA during his coaching career. In the NFL, he served as defensive coordinator of the Dolphins and Cowboys and he was the head coach at Syracuse for more than a decade. In fact, Patricia coached under Pasqualoni at Syracuse during the early 2000s. Most recently, Pasqualoni spent the last two seasons serving as the defensive line coach at Boston College.
The Lions’ DC job became available when Teryl Austin left to join up with the Bengals earlier this winter.
New Lions hire Paul Pasqualoni is expected to take on a “prominent role” on the club’s coaching staff, reports Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Previous reports have indicated that Pasqualoni, who had been working as Boston College’s defensive line coach, could take over as Detroit’s defensive coordinator under Patricia (who figures to call his own defensive plays). The Lions are in need of a new DC after Teryl Austin, the team’s defensive play-caller for the past four seasons, took the same job with Cincinnati. However, Pasqualoni could instead receive an assistant head coach title, per Yates.
Matt Patricia is already adding to his new coaching staff. Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter) that the Lions have hired Paul Pasqualoni. The coach’s role in Detroit is unclear, although Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com wonders if he could be the team’s new defensive coordinator.
As expected, the Lions made it official on Monday in announcing Matt Patricia will be their next head coach. Now that the 2017 season is over, the two teams who waited for the Patriots’ season to end are free to announce agreements.
This hire has been expected for more than three weeks, and the longtime New England DC can begin to fully assemble his first Detroit staff.
“When we launched the search for our next head coach, I wanted to find a leader that could take us to the next level and I am confident we have found that in Matt Patricia,” Lions GM Bob Quinn said. “He has been preparing for this opportunity his entire career, and he’s ready for the responsibility and its challenges.
“Matt is driven to succeed, has extreme passion for the game and excels in preparation. He embodies the same hard-working, blue-collar attributes that represent our organization and the great City of Detroit.”
Patricia served as Patriots DC for six seasons but spent 14 years with the franchise, going straight from being a Syracuse graduate assistant to working on Bill Belichick‘s staff. The 43-year-old Patricia is coming off his first Super Bowl defeat as Pats DC, but he served on staff for six of the eight Super Bowls in the Belichick era.
The Lions are expected to retain OC Jim Bob Cooter and are not certain to hire a defensive coordinator, with Patricia expected to run that unit. They will have an entirely new defensive staff regardless.
With the Super Bowl in the books, we now know the draft order for the entire first round of the 2018 draft. Here’s the rundown:
1. Cleveland Browns (0-16)
2. New York Giants (3-13)
3. Indianapolis Colts (4-12)
4. Cleveland Browns (via the 4-12 Houston Texans)
5. Denver Broncos (5-11)
6. New York Jets (5-11)
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-11)
8. Chicago Bears (5-11)
T-9. Oakland Raiders (6-10)
T-9. San Francisco 49ers (6-10) (Note: The Raiders and 49ers have identical records and the same strength of schedule. The tie will be broken by a coin flip with the winner getting pick No. 9 and the other club receiving the No. 10 pick.)
11. Miami Dolphins (6-10)
12. Cincinnati Bengals (7-9)
13. Washington Redskins (7-9)
14. Green Bay Packers (7-9)
15. Arizona Cardinals (8-8)
16. Baltimore Ravens (9-7)
17. Los Angeles Chargers (9-7)
18. Seattle Seahawks (9-7)
19. Dallas Cowboys (9-7)
20. Detroit Lions (9-7)
21. Buffalo Bills (9-7)
22. Buffalo Bills (via the 10-6 Kansas City Chiefs)
23. Los Angeles Rams (11-5)
24. Carolina Panthers (11-5)
25. Tennessee Titans (9-7)
26. Atlanta Falcons (10-6)
27. New Orleans Saints (11-5)
28. Pittsburgh Steelers (13-3)
29. Jacksonville Jaguars (10-6)
30. Minnesota Vikings (13-3)
31. New England Patriots (13-3)
32. Philadelphia Eagles (13-3)