Thanks to an e-mailer for alerting me to a story from the Fox affiliate in Memphis about Tigers defensive coordinator Tim Walton leaving to join the Lions as defensive-backs coach. I was covering the Michigan-Michigan State game last night and have not been able to confirm the addition yet, but there's no reason to believe it's not true.

Presumably, Walton and new Lions coach Jim Schwartz crossed paths in Tennessee, and even if they hadn't Walton worked under Nick Saban at LSU and we all know Schwartz's ties with Saban. (Incidentally, that makes at least three assistants with Saban ties in offensive coordinator Scott Linehan and offensive-line coach George Yarno.)

That leaves only the defensive line unaccounted for in terms of position coaches, and maybe quarterbacks coach, though Linehan will work closely with them and new tight-ends coach Tim Lappano also coached quarterbacks in his last stop at Washington. Rivals.com reported Lappano's hiring yesterday, and every other assistant has been in place for several weeks.

Expect the Lions to make an announcement on their entire staff by the end of the week. Perhaps then we'll find out what happened to Bob Slowik, who the Rocky Mountain News pegged for the Lions' secondary job last month.