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Detroit Lions News & Rumors

Matt Patricia Prefers Giants To Lions

January 10th, 2018 at 2:30pm CST by Zachary Links

The Patriots are bracing for Matt Patricia to leave, but it might not be for the Lions’ head coaching job. The defensive guru is also up for the Giants’ job and he prefers the G-Men to the Lions, Peter King of The MMQB hears. Matt Patricia (vertical)

[RELATED: PFR’s 2018 Head Coaching Search Tracker]

If Patricia is offered the Giants’ head coaching position and accepts, it will have a domino effect reaching Detroit and beyond. If Patricia goes to the Giants, the Lions may pivot to Houston defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel, King hears. If that happens, Vrabel would be out of the running for the Colts’ HC job.

The Giants were abysmal in 2017, but they have lots of talent to work with on defense including cornerback Janoris Jenkins and defensive ends Jason Pierre-Paul and Olivier Vernon. If Patricia can get underperforming youngsters like Eli Apple on the right track, the Giants could return to having one of the better defensive units in the NFL. The Giants also have the No. 2 overall pick at their disposal, so Patricia’s preference towards New York is understandable.

NFL Reserve/Future Contracts: 1/8/18

January 8th, 2018 at 6:59pm CST by Zachary Links

Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2018 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters:

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

  • WR Rasheed Bailey

Detroit Lions

Los Angeles Rams 

Lions Still Interested In Steve Wilks

January 8th, 2018 at 1:16pm CST by Sam Robinson

Steve Wilks has set up three interviews for this week. The Giants will receive the first opportunity to meet with the Panthers’ DC, with ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson reporting (on Twitter) Wilks will trek to New Jersey to meet with the Dave Gettleman-led group on Tuesday before flying to Arizona to meet with the Cardinals on Wednesday. Following those meetings, the Colts will host Wilks on Thursday, Mike Wells of ESPN.com tweets. These aren’t the only teams interested in securing a sitdown with Wilks. The Lions remain interested in doing so as well, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.

Raiders Eyeing Teryl Austin

January 8th, 2018 at 10:59am CST by Zachary Links

The Raiders are looking to soup up their staff. Head coach Jon Gruden has set his sights on Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin and hopes to hire him as the team’s assistant head coach/defensive backs coach, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Teryl Austin (vertical)

Austin is also being chased by the Bengals, who are hoping to have him replace Paul Guenther as their defensive coordinator. Instead, Austin could follow Guenther to Oakland and work alongside him. Austin would not have as much autonomy with the Raiders, but he would have the opportunity to work with a better defense on the whole. He might also be able to finagle a high-paying four-year deal like the ones given to Guenther, offensive coordinator Greg Olson, and special teams coach Rich Bisaccia.

Austin also interviewed for the Lions’ head coaching vacancy, but he is not expected to come away with the job. Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia is reportedly the favorite in Detroit and he’ll likely look to bring in his own people. It seems unlikely that Austin will not be back with the Lions in 2018, but he has plenty of options elsewhere in the NFL.

Bengals Negotiating DC Deal With Teryl Austin

January 7th, 2018 at 9:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

A sought-after name on the HC interview circuit in recent offseasons, Teryl Austin may be backing off those pursuits for the time being.

While he interviewed for the Lions’ HC job, the Bengals are negotiating with Austin to become their next defensive coordinator, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, adding the deal is not yet finalized but that could be imminent.

The Bengals interviewed Austin on Friday; he’s the only candidate the franchise has interviewed thus far in the process. The Lions blocked Austin from interviewing with the Packers but did not stand in the way of their DC speaking with Cincinnati representatives.

Rapoport notes (via Twitter) Austin is not yet eliminated for the Lions’ HC job, but he’s likely headed to western Ohio if he doesn’t get that job. Matt Patricia‘s viewed as the Detroit favorite.

The 52-year-old assistant’s been the Lions’ DC for the past four seasons. Prior to that, he spent three seasons in command of the Ravens’ secondary. Austin, who also oversaw the Seahawks’ and Cardinals’ secondaries during the 2000s, conducted a whopping 12 HC interviews over the past three offseasons. He spoke with the Rams and Chargers last season only to see those teams move in different directions.

Austin’s Lions defenses have not been top-tier units over the past three seasons. Statistically, they topped out at No. 18 in 2015 and ’16 in total defense before dropping to 27th in that category this season. In 2014, though, the Lions finished second in total defense to put Austin on the HC map.

The Bengals had hoped to keep Paul Guenther in charge of their defense, but he plans to join Jon Gruden’s staff in Oakland. Cincinnati also sought Bears DC Vic Fangio, but it appears Bengals brass is ready to hire Austin.

2018 Offensive/Defensive Coordinator Tracker

January 7th, 2018 at 3:25pm CST by Dallas Robinson

While at least six NFL teams are making head coaching changes this offseason, the number of clubs replacing offensive and/or defensive coordinators figures to be much higher than that. In addition to all those teams hiring new head coaches, who may want to bring in their own assistants, several clubs also figure to make changes on one side of the ball or the other after getting disappointing results in 2017. And, of course, the teams whose coordinators landed head coaching jobs will need to replace them.

With reports circulating on potential candidates, interview requests, and actual meetings, we’ll use the space below to keep tabs on all the latest updates on teams hiring new offensive and/or defensive coordinators. This post, which will be updated daily, can be found under the “PFR Features” menu on the right-hand side of the site.

Updated 3-6-18 (5:53pm CT)

Offensive Coordinators

Arizona Cardinals (Out: Harold Goodwin)

Buffalo Bills (Out: Rick Dennison)

Carolina Panthers (Out: Mike Shula)

  • Norv Turner, former offensive coordinator (Vikings): Hired

Chicago Bears (Out: Dowell Loggains)

  • Mark Helfrich, former head coach (Oregon): Hired

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Bill Lazor, interim offensive coordinator (Bengals): Retained

Cleveland Browns (vacant)

Denver Broncos

  • Bill Musgrave, interim offensive coordinator (Broncos): Retained

Detroit Lions

  • Jim Bob Cooter, offensive coordinator (Lions): Retained

Green Bay Packers (Out: Edgar Bennett)

Indianapolis Colts (Out: Rob Chudzinski)

Kansas City Chiefs (Out: Matt Nagy)

  • Eric Bieniemy, running backs coach (Chiefs): Promoted

Miami Dolphins (Out: Clyde Christensen)

  • Dowell Loggains, former offensive coordinator (Bears): Hired

Minnesota Vikings (Out: Pat Shurmur)

New York Giants (Out: Mike Sullivan)

New York Jets (Out: John Morton)

Oakland Raiders (Out: Todd Downing)

Philadelphia Eagles (Out: Frank Reich)

Pittsburgh Steelers (Out: Todd Haley)

Seattle Seahawks (Out: Darrell Bevell)

Tennessee Titans (Out: Terry Robiskie)

Defensive Coordinators

Arizona Cardinals (Out: James Bettcher)

  • Al Holcomb, linebackers coach (Panthers): Hired

Baltimore Ravens (Out: Dean Pees)

Carolina Panthers (Out: Steve Wilks)

  • Eric Washington, defensive line coach (Panthers): Promoted

Chicago Bears

  • Vic Fangio, defensive coordinator (Bears): Retained

Cincinnati Bengals (Out: Paul Guenther)

Detroit Lions

  • Paul Pasqualoni, defensive line coach (Boston College): Hired

Green Bay Packers (Out: Dom Capers)

Houston Texans (Out: Mike Vrabel)

  • Romeo Crennel, assistant head coach (Texans): Hired

Indianapolis Colts (Out: Ted Monachino)

  • Matt Eberflus, linebackers coach (Cowboys): Hired

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Gus Bradley, defensive coordinator (Chargers): Retained

New England Patriots (Out: Matt Patricia)

New York Giants

Oakland Raiders (Out: John Pagano)

  • Paul Guenther, defensive coordinator (Bengals): Hired

Seattle Seahawks (Out: Kris Richard)

  • Ken Norton Jr., former defensive coordinator (Raiders): Hired

Tennessee Titans (Out: Dick LeBeau)

Haloti Ngata Wants To Continue Playing

January 7th, 2018 at 9:51am CST by Rory Parks

Haloti Ngata wants to continue his playing career, and he wants to continue it in Detroit, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes. The soon-to-be 34-year-old defensive tackle has flirted with retirement in the past, and just a few months ago, Birkett himself said that he expected Ngata to call it a career this offseason.

Haloti Ngata (vertical)

And that may well have been the case if Ngata had not suffered a torn biceps that ended his 2017 campaign prematurely. In an interview with WXYT-FM, Ngata said, “I think if I finished the year healthy I would have been a little closer to probably retiring, but I want to finish the season so I think I want to keep on playing. And definitely I loved being able to be here and help Detroit have more dominance in this league. We’ve had winning seasons, I just want to continue to build this franchise and get it to where it can be a dominant franchise and a great team. So I definitely want to be here, I definitely want to keep on playing, but we’ll have to see once free agency hits.”

As Birkett observes, the Lions allowed just 74.6 yards rushing per game when Ngata was healthy, but after Ngata’s injury, the Lions allowed 129.7 yards rushing per game. Ngata noticed the drop-off and said that, had he been healthy, he may have been able to help push the Lions to the postseason.

Ngata will become an unrestricted free agent in March, and despite his advanced age, and the fact that he has not played a full season since 2011 due to suspension or injury, his pedigree and his 2017 performance will surely land him a job somewhere. He has not been the same player for Detroit that he was for Baltimore for nine seasons — which is to be expected — but he clearly has something left in the tank, and he does not want his career to end to an injury.

Latest On Steve Wilks

January 7th, 2018 at 9:28am CST by Rory Parks

Add the Cardinals to the list of teams looking to get a crack at Panthers DC Steve Wilks, who is arguably this offseason’s hottest head coaching candidate. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Wilks — who is coaching Carolina’s defense in its playoff tilt against the Saints this afternoon — will spend the coming week trying to fit in interviews with Arizona, the Giants, the Lions, and the Colts (Twitter link).

Steve Wilks (vertical)

The Cardinals have already interviewed a few candidates for their head coaching gig, including their own DC, James Bettcher, and Patriots’ DC Matt Patricia. But they plan to at least sit down with Wilks to see what the hype is all about.

As Rapoport notes in a brief segment with colleague Mike Garafolo (video link), all four of the above-referenced teams are waiting to hire a new head coach until they have had the chance to meet with Wilks (which is interesting, because we heard just yesterday that the Lions are expected to hire Patricia). Rapoport adds that, despite the fact that the Panthers have fielded an impressive defensive unit this season, it is Wilks’ leadership ability, even more so than his prowess as a defensive coordinator, that has him in such high demand.

Garafalo notes that new Giants GM Dave Gettleman is anxious to get Wilks in front of team ownership, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that Wilks will interview with Big Blue on Monday. How many interviews he takes beyond that will depend on the outcome of today’s playoff matchup.

The Bears also requested to interview Wilks, but as of yet, there has been no word as to whether Wilks will meet with Chicago.

Lions Likely To Hire Matt Patricia

January 6th, 2018 at 7:50pm CST by Zachary Links

It sounds like Matt Patricia is ready to leave the nest. The Patriots are bracing for their defensive coordinator to leave, most likely to become the next head coach of the Lions, a source with knowledge of the situation tells Mike Florio of PFT.

As shown in PFR’s Head Coaching Search Tracker, Patricia is up for three jobs with the Lions, Cardinals, and Giants all showing interest. If the Lions are indeed hiring him, they’ll have to wait until the Patriots’ season is officially over to put pen to paper. However, they could reach a handshake agreement with him before that point.

Patricia has been praised for his defensive acumen and his pre-existing relationship with GM Bob Quinn gives him an advantage over others who are up for the job. If Patricia is the hire in Detroit, it will have a ripple effect across the league and possibly displace incumbent coordinators Jim Bob Cooter (offense) and Teryl Austin (defense). Both Austin and Cooter met with the team about a potential promotion to HC.

The Patriots’ postseason gets underway next Saturday in the divisional round.

Former Packers WR Jared Abbrederis Retires

January 6th, 2018 at 7:09pm CST by Zachary Links

Jared Abbrederis will not seek NFL employment in 2018. The former Packers wide receiver took to Twitter on Saturday to announce his retirement. Jared Abbrederis (Vertical)

“As fun as the ride has been, my time has come to hang up the cleats and to start the next chapter of my life,” Abbrederis wrote. “To grow up in Wisconsin, walk on for the Badgers, and get drafted by the Packers has been such an amazing journey. As a four-year-old I had dreams of playing in the NFL for the Green Bay Packers, however, I never thought that 20 years later I would actually be living out those dreams!”

Abbrederis is only 27, but he is walking away from the game after suffering multiple injuries on the field. While in Green Bay, suffered a torn ACL and missed his entire rookie season. In the following year, he missed a good chunk of time with a concussion and rib injuries. In 2017, which turned out to be his final NFL season, he suited up in seven games for the Lions. Abbrederis had three grabs for 44 yards on the year.

It’s not immediately clear what Abbrederis has planned next or whether it will involve football.

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