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One thing you can count on with the Detroit Lions is that they are never, ever boring. Follow the latest news including injuries, roster moves and more here daily from Oakland Press beat writer Paula Pasche. Plus you'll find regular commentary about the team.

2/28/2014

Detroit Lions coordinators could move on to head coaching positions


With the new coaching staff, the Lions on offense and defense will look somewhat different.

It’s not just coach Jim Caldwell who will have a major impact on the Lions. 

The Lions’ offensive and defensive coordinators are younger and will coordinating in the NFL for the first time.

The 48-year-old Teryl Austin, who will run the defense, was most recently the secondary coach for the Baltimore Ravens while the 42-year-old Joe Lombardi was the quarterbacks coach for the New Orleans Saints the past five seasons.

They replace the 67-year-old Gunther Cunningham on defense and the 50-year-old Scott LInehan.

“I don’t really have a preference as far as the age of the coordinator or experience level of a coordinator, I just want good coordinators,’’ general manager Martin Mayhew said. “I’ve known Teryl Austin for a long time, I’ve talked to him on the sidelines at combines and Senior Bowls. I have great respect for his abilities.

“I just recently met Joe (Lombardi), I was in his interviews, he was outstanding, very highly recommended. Both of those guys were very highly recommended,’’ Mayhew added.

It’s a possibility that Austin and Lombardi will break the mold and move on to be NFL head coaches unlike other Lions’ coaches in the past.

“I don’t think it’s far-fetched to say that either one of those guys could be a head coach in four or five years. ... I’m really excited about our staff in general,’’ Mayhew said.

Cunningham will remain with the Lions in a new role, while Linehan has been hired by the Dallas Cowboys as the passing game coordinator.

(Follow @PaulaPasche on Twitter. Order her book,  “100 Things Lions Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die’’ here. It’s also available at bookstores.)


1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

would be nice to see them prove how well their schemes are before already making them out to be great head coaches, imo

5:46 PM 

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