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Coaching Search Recap

grandy

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2011
Messages
11,699
So far...

http://www.prideofdetroit.com/2014/1/2/5265264/lions-coaching-search-recap-first-few-days

Compared to some other teams, the Detroit Lions' coaching search is moving at a pretty slow pace. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, for example, hired Lovie Smith just days after firing Greg Schiano, and other teams have already lined up multiple interviews or at least received permission from teams to talk to various coordinators. The Lions, on the other hand, haven't created too many headlines just yet with their search for a new head coach, which officially began after Jim Schwartz was fired on Monday.

Since Schwartz's firing, there has only been one truly noteworthy development in the Lions' coaching search when you consider that a couple other pieces of news turned out to be false. Here's a recap:

Only one interview lined up so far

As far as we know, the Lions currently only have an interview planned with Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell. It's unclear when that interview will take place, though. Caldwell is also expected to interview for the Washington Redskins' vacant head coaching job, and with the Penn State head coaching job opening up thanks to Bill O'Brien being hired by the Houston Texans, it's possible Caldwell could get a look for that vacancy as well. (Caldwell was a Penn State assistant from 1986-1992.)

Not so fast on Todd Bowles and Tom Cable

On Monday night, it was reported that the Lions made contact with the Arizona Cardinals about defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. This seemed to be an indication that the Lions were seeking permission to speak with Bowles, but that report turned out to be incorrect. As it stands right now, Bowles is not believed to actually be a candidate for the Lions' job.

The same goes for Seattle Seahawks assistant Tom Cable. It was reported on Tuesday that the Lions were "doing background work" on Cable and even spoke with Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll about him. Shortly after, however, it was reported that Cable isn't even a candidate for the Lions' vacancy and that conversation with Carroll never actually happened. Needless to say, Cable doesn't appear to be in the mix for the Lions' job.

Other names in the mix?

There have really only been three names linked to the Lions in the past 24 hours. One is Caldwell, who is expected to interview with the team at some point. Another is Lovie Smith, who was expected to interview with the Lions before he was quickly hired by the Bucs on Wednesday night. The final name is Ken Whisenhunt, who is the current offensive coordinator of the San Diego Chargers. There hasn't been a concrete report directly stating that the Lions have interest in Whisenhunt just yet, but he seems like one of the top candidates at this point.


Whisenhunt has been mentioned quite a bit as a potential candidate, and the notion that he's "well positioned" suggests he's going to get a look from the Lions here shortly. Again, there's nothing concrete yet, but that could simply be because the Lions have to wait to talk to Whisenhunt since the Chargers have a playoff game this week.

Right now, the Lions seem to be taking a patient approach when it comes to their coaching search. They appear to be doing a lot of work behind the scenes to research potential candidates rather than simply requesting permission to talk to all of the popular coordinators from playoff teams. As a result, there haven't been a whole lot of developments in their coaching search just yet, but I'm sure business will start to pick up shortly.
 
I like Bevell and Zimmer a lot. Can't say I'm quite sold on Whisenhunt but I bet he's who we end up with.
 
Why the hell would we wait? Ask for permission to talk to him and interview him if you like whisenhunt. Who the fuck cares if the chargers have a playoff game. Fuckin mayhew....
 
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I think it's the rules. I believe you can only interview coaches who do not have a game this weekend.
 
I think it's the rules. I believe you can only interview coaches who do not have a game this weekend.

Theres reports all over the place that teams ask permission to speak with coordinators from teams with playoff games. Every team has done it.....except us.
 
Coaching Interview Rules from the Freep

"San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt has emerged as an early candidate for the Detroit Lions coaching vacancy, but Whisenhunt isn’t eligible to interview for any NFL jobs until next week at the earliest.

NFL rules prohibit assistant coaches whose teams play on wild-card weekend from meeting with prospective employers during the opening week of the playoffs. They can interview with teams, if they’re granted permission, only next week in the days between the wild-card and divisional round.

Assistants with teams who have a first-round bye can interview only up until the conclusion of the wild-card games on Sunday, and no interviews of any assistants are allowed during conference championship week.


The Chargers play the Cincinnati Bengals, who have three assistants who could garner head-coaching interest of their own, at 1:05 p.m. Sunday.

Lions president Tom Lewand said Monday he received a number of inquiries from interested parties shortly after the team announced the firing of head coach Jim Schwartz around noon.

The Lions did not officially ask permission to interview any current assistant Monday, but Lewand said he expects an expedient search process.

“We’re not going to put any artificial timelines on it,” he said. “But as I said, the process is already started.”

Playoff teams have the right to deny assistant coaches interviews during the postseason, but if they allow an assistant to interview for one opening they must grant permission for all inquiring teams.

Teams cannot hire an assistant from a playoff team until the coach’s season is over.

New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael, San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman and Bengals assistants Jay Gruden, Mike Zimmer and Hue Jackson are in the same situation as Whisenhunt.


The Lions have temporarily retained all but two of Schwartz’s assistants, offensive coordinator Scott Linehan and receivers coach Tim Lappano. The remaining assistants have contracts that expire either next Tuesday or after next season, and teams that wish to interview them for lateral or other moves must submit a formal request."

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013312310069
 
I've been pretty underwhelmed by the names I've seen floated around so far, but honestly they can't be any worse than Dirty Underschwartz was. Maybe I'm just being cynical here, but we'll probably be starting this process again in another 5yrs, so what's it really matter?
 
Thanks for the official rules and all the info, Grandy. It's good to clear things up.
 
Not hearing the Lions ask for permission may not mean anything anyway. Like the rules said, if a team gives permission to anyone, they must give permission to everyone. Teams may have already denied permission on some of their candidates that went unreported, so the Lions would already know not to bother.

The fact that coaches can't actually sign until after their season ends tells me this "patient" approach isn't so bad. If no one else is talking with the coaches we want (if they are, permission would automatically be granted to us), then nobody has a leg up on us. I'd rather wait until we've actually interviewed everyone we want than to jump on the first candidate available.
 
So Caldwell fills the minority interview quota...

Not to be a smart ass, but were the Bucs required to interview a white coach before they hired Lovie?
 
So Caldwell fills the minority interview quota...

Not to be a smart ass, but were the Bucs required to interview a white coach before they hired Lovie?

i was wondering about that myself. I mean if we were going hard after Dungy would we HAVE to interview a white coach?
 
5 Questions with Baltimore Beat Down about Jim Caldwell

http://www.prideofdetroit.com/2014/1/3/5267854/lions-coaching-search-jim-caldwell-ravens

1. Jim Caldwell's sudden promotion to offensive coordinator last season seemed to jumpstart the Ravens' run to the Super Bowl. What did Caldwell change about the offense that worked so well?

The Ravens stuck with the Cam Cameron offense after he was fired but Caldwell assumed play-calling duties. Here's the thing about Cameron: Love him or hate him (hating Cameron was a pastime in Baltimore), his playbook generally had some good stuff in it. The problem was he would get stubborn and rely too much on the same plays over and over again. He rarely utilized the middle of the field and stuck with safe calls along the sideline. It baffled the fans, and the players grew frustrated with him over time.

Caldwell opened up Cameron's playbook once he had a grip on it, or at least it seemed, and once Joe Flacco and the offense got comfortable in the 2012 postseason, everything began to click. But like any coordinator, Caldwell probably preferred his way the best. And so Caldwell began implementing his playbook in the offseason, and it was apparent that the team struggled to get on the same page in 2013. That, combined with what turned out to be a colossal disaster in hiring Juan Castillo to be the run-game coordinator (but that's for another post, another time).

2. This past season was a different story for the Ravens offense with the team ranking 25th in the NFL in scoring, 29th in total yards per game and 30th in rushing yards per game. How much blame does Caldwell deserve for Baltimore's offensive struggles?

It depends on who you talk to. Some say the offense's demise this year is Caldwell's fault, that the offense was too predictable. Some say it's Castillo's fault for changing the technique of the offensive linemen when what they were doing had worked for so long. Others will blame the players for not getting the job done.

In all honesty, it's probably a mix of all three. In football, placing the blame on one person or area usually doesn't cut it. It's a game filled with moving parts. And Caldwell was among those parts. If he's back as the offensive coordinator next year, maybe he learns from the mistakes made this year. Or perhaps, he moves on to another job and avoids the scrutiny he'd otherwise receive in Baltimore.

3. One of the most important things for the Lions going forward is having a coach who can develop Matthew Stafford. How would you evaluate Joe Flacco's progression since Caldwell joined the Ravens?

This has a two-pronged answer in a sense. Joe Flacco finished with a career-high 3,912 yards in 2013, but that number barely bested his 2012 total of 3,817. Falling short of 4,000 yards after being named Super Bowl MVP in an unbelievable postseason run that earned him a $120.6 million contract has to be seen as a failure. He also threw 22 interceptions (a career high) to 19 touchdowns (his worst since his rookie season). And before last year's playoff run, this was kind of how he was during the 2012 regular season -- up and down, except he was down more this year than up.

So his progression under Caldwell hasn't showed in terms of the yards or touchdowns thrown. But at the same time, Flacco and Caldwell have a great working relationship with each other. While Flacco and Cameron were strained at times, he and Caldwell get along great and seem to be perfect for each other. Caldwell's always calm and isn't a big rah-rah guy. If Caldwell ended up taking the Detroit job, maybe having that calm but constructive influence could help someone like Stafford.

But as far as how Flacco's production has grown in two years with Caldwell on board, well, it hasn't.

4. Obviously this may depend on personnel, but Reggie Bush and Joique Bell were two of the Lions' best pass catchers this past season. How involved have Baltimore's running backs been in the passing game under Caldwell?

If everything went according to plan from the preseason, the running backs would have been more involved in the passing game. As it was, the running game was horrible and the offensive line struggled to protect Flacco (he was sacked 48 times in 2013, second-worst in the NFL). That forced the Ravens to use Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce in protections rather than in routes.

Rice, who has historically fared well in the Ravens' passing game, ended the 2013 season with 321 receiving yards. Pierce had just 104 yards through the air. Thinking back to when he was the Colts' head coach, I don't recall the running backs getting the ball that much in the passing game. But he had a pretty nice connection in Peyton Manning to Reggie Wayne to work with, so that didn't exactly matter.

5. What would you say has been the biggest strength and the biggest weakness of the Ravens offense since Caldwell took control of it?

The biggest strength? Having Anquan Boldin and Dennis Pitta during the Super Bowl run. Without Boldin this year and Pitta being sidelined for most of it, the offense was out of sorts. It didn't have a strength. When you look back, it's amazing this team won eight games based on the offensive production it got. A lot of fans compared it to the 2000 offense, which ranks as one of the worst offenses to ever win a Super Bowl.

The biggest weakness on this offense was its inability to convert red-zone opportunities. There's a reason the local media voted Justin Tucker the team's MVP. It was a success when the offense got inside the 35 so that Tucker could get a chance. It was that bad this year.

Quite honestly, given the way this year played out, I'm surprised both the Lions and Redskins, and even Penn State, are taking a look at Caldwell as a head coach. Sure, there were a lot of elements that caused the offense to play so poorly that it posted the lowest rushing output in franchise history (1,328 yards). But then again, when an offense is that inefficient, how does that warrant the group's coordinator multiple looks in what would be a promotion?

Thing is, a lot of Baltimore fans wouldn't mind seeing him take one of these jobs if he's offered.
 
5 Questions with Baltimore Beat Down about Jim Caldwell

http://www.prideofdetroit.com/2014/1/3/5267854/lions-coaching-search-jim-caldwell-ravens

1. Jim Caldwell's sudden promotion to offensive coordinator last season seemed to jumpstart the Ravens' run to the Super Bowl. What did Caldwell change about the offense that worked so well?

The Ravens stuck with the Cam Cameron offense after he was fired but Caldwell assumed play-calling duties. Here's the thing about Cameron: Love him or hate him (hating Cameron was a pastime in Baltimore), his playbook generally had some good stuff in it. The problem was he would get stubborn and rely too much on the same plays over and over again. He rarely utilized the middle of the field and stuck with safe calls along the sideline. It baffled the fans, and the players grew frustrated with him over time.

Caldwell opened up Cameron's playbook once he had a grip on it, or at least it seemed, and once Joe Flacco and the offense got comfortable in the 2012 postseason, everything began to click. But like any coordinator, Caldwell probably preferred his way the best. And so Caldwell began implementing his playbook in the offseason, and it was apparent that the team struggled to get on the same page in 2013. That, combined with what turned out to be a colossal disaster in hiring Juan Castillo to be the run-game coordinator (but that's for another post, another time).

2. This past season was a different story for the Ravens offense with the team ranking 25th in the NFL in scoring, 29th in total yards per game and 30th in rushing yards per game. How much blame does Caldwell deserve for Baltimore's offensive struggles?

It depends on who you talk to. Some say the offense's demise this year is Caldwell's fault, that the offense was too predictable. Some say it's Castillo's fault for changing the technique of the offensive linemen when what they were doing had worked for so long. Others will blame the players for not getting the job done.

In all honesty, it's probably a mix of all three. In football, placing the blame on one person or area usually doesn't cut it. It's a game filled with moving parts. And Caldwell was among those parts. If he's back as the offensive coordinator next year, maybe he learns from the mistakes made this year. Or perhaps, he moves on to another job and avoids the scrutiny he'd otherwise receive in Baltimore.

3. One of the most important things for the Lions going forward is having a coach who can develop Matthew Stafford. How would you evaluate Joe Flacco's progression since Caldwell joined the Ravens?

This has a two-pronged answer in a sense. Joe Flacco finished with a career-high 3,912 yards in 2013, but that number barely bested his 2012 total of 3,817. Falling short of 4,000 yards after being named Super Bowl MVP in an unbelievable postseason run that earned him a $120.6 million contract has to be seen as a failure. He also threw 22 interceptions (a career high) to 19 touchdowns (his worst since his rookie season). And before last year's playoff run, this was kind of how he was during the 2012 regular season -- up and down, except he was down more this year than up.

So his progression under Caldwell hasn't showed in terms of the yards or touchdowns thrown. But at the same time, Flacco and Caldwell have a great working relationship with each other. While Flacco and Cameron were strained at times, he and Caldwell get along great and seem to be perfect for each other. Caldwell's always calm and isn't a big rah-rah guy. If Caldwell ended up taking the Detroit job, maybe having that calm but constructive influence could help someone like Stafford.

But as far as how Flacco's production has grown in two years with Caldwell on board, well, it hasn't.

4. Obviously this may depend on personnel, but Reggie Bush and Joique Bell were two of the Lions' best pass catchers this past season. How involved have Baltimore's running backs been in the passing game under Caldwell?

If everything went according to plan from the preseason, the running backs would have been more involved in the passing game. As it was, the running game was horrible and the offensive line struggled to protect Flacco (he was sacked 48 times in 2013, second-worst in the NFL). That forced the Ravens to use Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce in protections rather than in routes.

Rice, who has historically fared well in the Ravens' passing game, ended the 2013 season with 321 receiving yards. Pierce had just 104 yards through the air. Thinking back to when he was the Colts' head coach, I don't recall the running backs getting the ball that much in the passing game. But he had a pretty nice connection in Peyton Manning to Reggie Wayne to work with, so that didn't exactly matter.

5. What would you say has been the biggest strength and the biggest weakness of the Ravens offense since Caldwell took control of it?

The biggest strength? Having Anquan Boldin and Dennis Pitta during the Super Bowl run. Without Boldin this year and Pitta being sidelined for most of it, the offense was out of sorts. It didn't have a strength. When you look back, it's amazing this team won eight games based on the offensive production it got. A lot of fans compared it to the 2000 offense, which ranks as one of the worst offenses to ever win a Super Bowl.

The biggest weakness on this offense was its inability to convert red-zone opportunities. There's a reason the local media voted Justin Tucker the team's MVP. It was a success when the offense got inside the 35 so that Tucker could get a chance. It was that bad this year.

Quite honestly, given the way this year played out, I'm surprised both the Lions and Redskins, and even Penn State, are taking a look at Caldwell as a head coach. Sure, there were a lot of elements that caused the offense to play so poorly that it posted the lowest rushing output in franchise history (1,328 yards). But then again, when an offense is that inefficient, how does that warrant the group's coordinator multiple looks in what would be a promotion?

Thing is, a lot of Baltimore fans wouldn't mind seeing him take one of these jobs if he's offered.

Next. I would hate to end up with Caldwell.
 
My buddy is an assistant at NC State and he has the same agent as Brian Kelly and the agent told him that Kelly has been talking with the Lions. I really don't want Kelly here. If we are going with a college coach over Wisenhunt then I want us to look at Jim Mora.
 
My buddy is an assistant at NC State and he has the same agent as Brian Kelly and the agent told him that Kelly has been talking with the Lions. I really don't want Kelly here. If we are going with a college coach over Wisenhunt then I want us to look at Jim Mora.

There have been a few Kelly links. He's not high on my list either. Mora is a hot n me but he is linked to UT.
 
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