ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- The Detroit Lions fired Joe Lombardi on Monday afternoon and promoted quarterbacks coach Jim Bob Cooter to offensive coordinator.

While most will know him because he has a name that stands out, the 31-year-old former University of Tennessee quarterback has a pretty good pedigree and a past that is worth examining. Here are four things to know about who will be calling plays for the Lions starting Sunday.

1. The Lions think highly of him: Chicago had interest in interviewing Cooter for its offensive coordinator gig last offseason when it was hiring a new coaching staff. The Lions blocked this interview request, in part, because of the value they believed Cooter brought to the franchise, both in working with quarterback Matthew Stafford and his future. He and Stafford have also built a rapport -- something Caldwell deemed valuable in this promotion. While Detroit likely did not envision the scenario that has played out to go quite like this, keeping Cooter was a priority for Detroit last offseason. Now, he'll be calling plays.

2. He was valued by Peyton Manning: Cooter worked with Manning in Indianapolis and the quarterback brought Cooter with him to Denver, where he was a valuable part of what Manning did every week. Earlier this season, Manning praised Cooter as having "great smarts, extremely smart." Manning felt Cooter would make a "great position coach" -- something he served the past season-plus in Detroit with Stafford. Manning also felt that "eventually he'll be a coordinator." Even Manning likely didn't think it would come this fast.

3. He's never called an offense before: Detroit is taking a chance with him as an offensive coordinator considering his first experience as a position coach came last season when he was Stafford's quarterbacks coach. So the Lions are going from one first-time offensive coordinator to another. When asked about this, Lions coach Jim Caldwell said Cooter is "very capable" and "very bright." Plus, he'll have running backs coach/run game coordinator Curtis Modkins to help out. It's a risk, but it's kind of a perfect situation for Cooter to be given a shot considering the Lions are 1-6 and have shown complete ineptness offensively most of this season.

4. His name is real. So very, very real: His birth name isn't Jim Bob Cooter, but rather James Robert Cooter -- Jim Bob for short. He's from Fayetteville, Tennessee, and went to Lincoln County High School. It's a pretty small town -- estimated population of 7,102 by the U.S. Census -- and his hometown is also the hometown of former NFL quarterback Kelly Holcomb.