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Detroit Lions News & Rumors

Looking Back On All 7 Coaching Searches

January 22nd, 2018 at 2:03pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals formally announced the hiring of Steve Wilks on Monday afternoon, meaning that all seven of the NFL’s head coaching vacancies are effectively filled. Using PFR’s Head Coaching Search Tracker, here’s a rundown of every candidate who was in the running for the Cardinals, Bears, Lions, Colts, Giants, Raiders, and Titans:

Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

New York Giants

Oakland Raiders

  • Jon Gruden, ESPN commentator: Hired
  • Bobby Johnson, tight ends coach (Raiders): Interviewed
  • Tee Martin, offensive coordinator (USC): Interviewed

Tennessee Titans

Updated 2018 NFL Draft Order

January 21st, 2018 at 9:16pm CST by Zachary Links

With the conference championship games in the books, we now know the draft order for 30 of the first round’s 32 picks. 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) or Philadelphia Eagles (13-3))

32. (New England Patriots (13-3) or Philadelphia Eagles (13-3))

Will Matt Patricia Change Lions' Offense?

January 21st, 2018 at 8:20pm CST by Zachary Links
  • ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein isn’t necessarily expecting major changes to the Lions‘ offense with Matt Patricia in command, though he anticipates a renewed focus on the run game’s efficiency. On the other side of the ball, Patricia may move to change from a 4-3 scheme to a 3-4. Ultimately, that may lead to a personnel shakeup in the front seven.

Titans Interested In Brian Callahan

January 21st, 2018 at 2:30pm CST by Dallas Robinson
  • Ohio State co-offensive coordinator Ryan Day is reportedly new Titans head coach Mike Vrabel‘s top choice to become Tennessee’s next OC, but Vrabel also has interest in Lions quarterbacks coach Brian Callahan, tweets Paul Kuharsky of PaulKuharsky.com. Callahan has drawn coordinator interest around the league before, and could also be on the Jets’ radar as they seek to fill their OC vacancy. However, Detroit and new head coach Matt Patricia want to keep Callahan in place with the Lions.

Matt Patricia May Not Hire DC With Lions

January 21st, 2018 at 10:39am CST by Sam Robinson
  • Matt Patricia is not certain to hire a defensive coordinator with the Lions, Volin notes. Patricia will run the Lions’ defense regardless. This was the job he was connected to throughout the offseason, and despite reports emerging the Giants had him among their finalists, Volin notes that wasn’t the case. McDaniels and Pat Shurmur are believed to be the only HC candidates the Giants were considering, per Volin.

NFL Workout Updates: 1/17/18

January 17th, 2018 at 8:40pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account:

Carolina Panthers

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Lions Want To Retain Brian Callahan

January 17th, 2018 at 6:35pm CST by Dallas Robinson

John Morton‘s firing may have come as a surprise to many, especially given that the Jets’ 2017 offense performed much better under Morton than most could have hoped. However, there may have been more to the dismissal, as Connor Hughes of NJ.com reports Morton and New York head coach Todd Bowles “clashed” throughout the season. Per Hughes, Bowles often made suggestions to Morton that were ignored, while other assistants on the Jets’ staff also took issue with Morton’s style. Meanwhile, Lions quarterbacks coach Brian Callahan could emerge as a candidate to replace Morton, as the Jets wanted to hire Callahan a year ago, per Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link), adding that Callahan has garnered offensive coordinator interest in each of the past two offseasons.

  • The Dolphins have hired former Lions defensive line coach Kris Kocurek for the same position in South Beach, reports Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. In Miami, Kocurek will not only reunite with star defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, but defensive coordinator Matt Burke, who worked with Kocurek in Detroit from 2009-13. Kocurek, whose possible defection to Miami was first reported by Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com, will replace ex-Dolphins DL coach Terrell Williams, whose contract was not renewed. The Lions have now lost several assistants from the defensive side of the ball, including coordinator Teryl Austin, who took the same role with the Bengals.

Latest On Lions’ Head Coaching Search

January 14th, 2018 at 9:16pm CST by Ben Levine

We’ve been hearing for several weeks that the Lions are set to make Matt Patricia their next head coach, and a report tonight from Albert Breer backs this sentiment. Breer tweets that the Lions have been informing other candidates that they’ve been eliminated from contention for the gig, and the organization is moving forward with the assumption that Patricia will be their head coach once the Patriots’ season ends.

Matt PatriciaDespite rumblings that Patricia had more interest in the Giants head coaching gig, reports from this morning indicated that Patricia would ultimately accept the Lions job. There have been whispers that Patricia would land in Detroit since the beginning of January, and there were even rumors that he could take the Lions job before the team fired former coach Jim Caldwell.

The Patriots defensive coordinator seems to be a natural fit for the Lions, especially when you consider his relationship with general manager Bob Quinn (who previously worked in New England). After working his way up through the Patriots coaching staff, Patricia was named defensive coordinator back in 2012. In six seasons in the role, the Patriots’ defense has never ranked lower than tenth in points allowed.

Our Head Coaching Tracker shows that Patricia was only one of many candidates to be interviewed by the Lions. The organization also reached out to 2017 coordinators Teryl Austin and Jim Bob Cooter, Packers assistant head coach Winston Moss, Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, and Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel.

Matt Patricia Expected To Become Lions’ HC

January 14th, 2018 at 8:18am CST by Rory Parks

This sounds familiar. Although Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia was said to prefer the Giants’ head coaching job to the Lions’, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets that Patricia is expected to become the Lions’ next head coach, as we heard last week.

Matt Patricia

Patricia, whose defense was quite impressive in New England’s win over the Titans last night, has been a hot head coaching candidate for several years now thanks to his overall body of work with the Pats. Even before the Lions parted ways with former head coach Jim Caldwell, there were plenty of reports linking Patricia to Detroit, as he has a preexisting relationship with Lions GM Bob Quinn stemming from Quinn’s tenure with the Patriots.

And on January 6, it was reported that the Lions would indeed hire Patricia. Just several days later, however, Peter King of TheMMQB.com indicated that Patricia preferred the Giants to the Lions, which threw something of a wrench into this season’s coaching carousel. But Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that his understanding all along has been that Patricia would accept the Lions’ job. Indeed, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes, Detroit would have moved on to other candidates if it did not believe Patricia was coming to the Motor City.

Of course, as New England’s season is not yet over, the Lions and Patricia will have to wait to make things official. Birkett adds (via Twitter) that Patricia is likely to retain Detroit’s incumbent offensive coordinator, Jim Bob Cooter.

Calvin Johnson Not Interested In Return To NFL

January 13th, 2018 at 6:39pm CST by Micah Powell

Former Lions receiver Calvin Johnson shocked the NFL when he retired following the 2015 season at the age of 30. The three-time First Team All-Pro selection announced last week that he has no intention of returning to the field, the Sporting News’ and SiriusXM’s Alex Marvez writes. Calvin Johnson (vertical)

During the 2017 season, there were reports of teams pursuing Johnson but he is happy to spend time with his family.

Don’t expect to see him coaching on the sidelines anytime soon either. The six-time Pro Bowl wideout said: “Coaching just takes up too much time,” Johnson said. “I got to the building pretty early when I was playing and coaches were already there and they leave after the players. As far as spending time with family, that’s what I was looking forward to.”

If he does make a return to the game in either capacity, don’t expect it to be with the Lions. The relationship between the team and Johnson is still fractured after the team demanded $1MM be returned from a 2012 signing bonus. Johnson ultimately gave the money back but the gesture severed ties between the two parties. Though Detroit has reportedly made attempts to salvage the relationship, Johnson has denied any contact has been made.

Since retiring in 2015, Johnson has served as a consultant around the league and has worked with receivers in Oakland and Miami. In nine NFL seasons, Johnson recorded 731 receptions for 11,619 yards and led the league in receiving yards in back-to-back seasons in 2011-12.

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