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Who will be the next head coach of the Detroit Lions?
Credit: NFL/MGN Image

Who will be the next head coach of the Detroit Lions?

DETROIT (BVM) — It’s been a tough past couple of decades for Detroit Lions fans, as the team has seemed stuck in mediocrity. With just three playoff appearances since 1999, and many big-time lows such as an 0-16 season in 2008, the Lions have more often become a punchline than being labeled as contenders.

After a 9-7 season in 2017 that saw the Lions miss the playoffs once again, the team decided to move on from then head coach, Jim Caldwell. During that offseason, Detroit brought in one of the top head coaching candidates on the market — former New England Patriots’ defensive coordinator, Matt Patricia.

Unfortunately, Patricia’s Lions’ tenure did not go as planned, and flamed out almost as quickly as it started. The Lions went just 6-10 in his first season in 2018, and with quarterback Matthew Stafford injured in most of 2019, the team fell to a lowly 3-12-1 record.

A 4-7 start to the 2020 campaign and a blowout loss to the Texans on Thanksgiving was enough to seal the fate of Patricia, and general manager Bob Quinn, as both were fired on Nov. 28.

After a win against division rival Chicago in interim coach Darrell Bevell’s first game, the Lions suffered another loss last Sunday to the Green Bay Packers. The loss dropped their record to 5-8, essentially eliminating them from playoff contention. 

After years of searching for the right head coach, the time is now for the Lions to get it right. Here are some possible contenders for the head job as we head towards the end of the 2020 season.

 

TOP CANDIDATES

Robert Saleh

Saleh will be one of the top head coaching candidates available as we hit the offseason, and for good reason. Last year, he led a 49ers defense that was one of the top units in the NFL. Despite decimating injuries on both sides of the ball for San Francisco this season, Saleh has kept his unit in the top half of the league when it comes to yards and points allowed. The defensive coordinator has been around the league since 2005, highlighted by his time under Pete Carroll in Seattle as a defensive assistant, where he was part of the Super Bowl XLVIII championship team. Now coordinating San Francisco’s defense the last four seasons, Saleh is poised to take over the head job of a team, and Detroit might just be a perfect fit. Saleh would be coming back home if he were hired in Detroit, as he is a Dearborn, Mich. native, and graduate of Fordson High School and Northern Michigan University. The Lions’ defense has struggled for years, and it is hard to see that continuing under Saleh’s watch.

Eric Bieniemy

Bieniemy should probably already have an NFL head coaching job, but seems to be overlooked every offseason. With the success the Kansas City Chiefs are having coming off their championship campaign, it is extremely unlikely the offensive guru will be available much longer. Luckily for Detroit, they could still choose to hire Bieniemy to kick start their offense. A nine-year NFL running back and former Colorado Buffalo, Bieniemy went back to his alma mater twice as a running backs coach and offensive coordinator. In 2013, he latched on with Andy Reid and the Chiefs, becoming the team’s running backs coach. In 2018, he was promoted to offensive coordinator, and he and Patrick Mahomes have led the league’s most lethal offense since. Bieniemy would be a nice addition for the Lions to develop the young core of T.J. Hockenson, D’Andre Swift, and Quintez Cephus. It remains to be seen if Detroit is set on keeping Matthew Stafford around or going to a full rebuild, but Bieniemy might be the perfect guy to bring a young quarterback along if that is the route the Lions choose.

Brian Daboll

Speaking of developing a young quarterback, Bills’ offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has done an incredible job in just a few short years working with Josh Allen. Daboll continues to add to one of the more impressive resumes among head coaching candidates. In the early 2000s, Daboll was an assistant on both sides of the ball for Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. He rejoined the Pats as an offensive assistant and tight ends coach from 2013-2016. After working with one of the best coaches of all-time in the pro ranks, Daboll went to do the same at the collegiate level under Nick Saban as Alabama’s co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2017. He has since settled in as offensive coordinator with the Bills, taking one of the NFL’s least exciting offenses and turning it into a dynamic threat in just a couple short years. Like Bieniemy, Daboll would seem like a great fit for the development of some of Detroit’s young talent. There’s also a chance that Daboll can bring some of his offensive principles from Buffalo and bring them to Matthew Stafford, perhaps squeezing a few more good seasons out of the veteran.

Matt Eberflus

Eberflus began his coaching career at the University of Toledo, spending time there from 1992-2000. After becoming the Missouri Tigers’ defensive coordinator shortly after until 2008, Eberflus jumped to the pro ranks, spending several years with the Cowboys before being promoted to the Colts’ defensive coordinator under Frank Reich’s regime in 2018. In his three years there, Eberflus has completely turned around a defense that had really struggled. Behind linebacker Darius Leonard among others, Indianapolis has been one of the top defenses in the league the past two seasons. As mentioned with Saleh, the Lions might need someone who can turn around this defense above anyone else. Aaron Rodgers still reigns supreme in the division, so order No. 1 is slowing down the Pack. Eberflus could just be the guy to make that happen after he helped the Colts hold the Packers to zero second half points in Indy’s 31-28 overtime win earlier this season.

Joe Brady

Brady may be the biggest wild card on this list, but could end up being a true homerun hire. Brady is just 31 years old, but has already built up quite a resume when it comes to coaching. After getting his start at William & Mary, Brady briefly spent time as a grad assistant at Penn State before joining forces with one of the best offensive minds in the NFL, Sean Payton, as an offensive assistant with the Saints in 2017 and 2018. Perhaps most notably, Brady was the passing-game coordinator for the LSU Tigers last year, helping lead an undefeated squad to a national championship while mentoring Joe Burrow to a Heisman and No. 1 overall selection. Panthers’ coach Matt Rhule quickly tabbed Brady to be his offensive coordinator in Carolina this season. Although the numbers haven’t jumped off the page while star running back Christian McCaffrey has missed the majority of the season, the Panthers have been a solid offense under Teddy Bridgewater. Maybe one of the best jobs Brady did was without his starting quarterback against these very Lions, helping backup P.J. Walker lead the Panthers to a blowout win a few weeks back. Perhaps Brady could be considered too young for the job, but a risk like this might just produce the reward this franchise badly needs.

 

OTHER NAMES WHO COULD BE CONSIDERED

Darrell Bevell, Arthur Smith, Dennis Allen, Matt Campbell, and Jim Harbaugh

Bevell obviously holds the interim role right now, and with a strong three-game finish, could be considered for the head coaching position. Most fans would probably like to see a fresh start, but Bevell is a strong offensive mind.

Smith is another young offensive-mind, and has helped transform the Tennessee Titans offense. Of course, having guys like Derrick Henry and A.J. Brown helps, but Smith has rejuvenated Ryan Tannehill, and could be a nice match with some of the young pieces in Detroit.

Allen flamed out in his only other NFL head coaching tenure with the Raiders, but a now older and wiser defensive mind is being considered as a head man once again. Allen has taken the Saints defensive to a championship level the last couple years.

Hiring Campbell would mean dipping into the college ranks, as he is currently the head coach at Iowa State. He has transformed the Cyclones into a top-10 program in the nation, and is someone who has to be considered after seeing the recent success of guys like Matt Rhule and Kliff Kingsbury.

Harbaugh is another coach from the college ranks that Lions’ fans are plenty familiar with. His time coaching back at his alma mater, the University of Michigan, has not gone to plan, and it has been reported he wants to move back to the pro ranks. Harbaugh would feel at home in Detroit, and had a lot of success in the NFL with the 49ers within the last decade.