A year ago, Jim Bob Cooter was the final piece put in place for the new coaching staff. The Detroit Lions had to wait because he was busy preparing for the Super Bowl as an offensive assistant for the Denver Broncos.

Cooter has proven to be a hot commodity.

The Lions have turned down a request by the Chicago Bears to interview Cooter for the offensive coordinator opening, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

With the Broncos he was an offensive assistant who worked with Peyton Manning. They wanted to keep him but he couldn’t promote him at the time. So he took the promotion to quarterbacks coach in Detroit to work with Jim Caldwell. The two had worked together with the Indianapolis Colts where Cooter also worked with Manning.

He’s worked closely with Matthew Stafford in the past season and the results showed in better footwork and decision making. In the last five regular season games Stafford threw nine touchdowns and just two interceptions.

Cooter was a quarterback at Tennessee and started his coaching career there as a graduate assistant in 2007.

The Lions had no choice but to allow defensive coordinator Teryl Austin to interview for head coaching positions. In fact, Caldwell was happy for him to get the opportunity. But it looks like he’ll be returning to Detroit. The Falcons have the only head coach opening and they are fully expected to hire Seahawks’ defensive coordinator Dan Quinn after the Super Bowl.

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