ALLEN PARK, Mich. –- As the Detroit Lions play out the final three weeks of the season under interim head coach -- and potential candidate -- Darrell Bevell, trying to figure out the appeal of the head-coaching gig is tough to gauge.
What are the positive points of this job? Other than head-coaching gigs in the NFL are scarce, what could turn a coach away from the Lions -- a franchise with one playoff win in 60-plus years and no division titles since 1993?
These are valid questions -- and ones that will likely receive answers once interviews pick up in early 2021. From a Lions perspective, here’s what a potential coaching candidate might care about.
The roster
There is little question the Lions will need a talent infusion, particularly on defense. Detroit has too many holes and too little speed and athleticism that new pieces are going to be needed at every level of the defense.
How big of a defensive reconstruction this ends up being will depend on the hire. If the new defensive coordinator wants to run more zone defense, then they might need more changes in the secondary since ex-coach Matt Patricia relied so heavily on man-to-man. Most of Detroit’s linebackers, except for Jamie Collins, seem more like specific scheme fits. And the defensive line -- particularly the interior -- might need an overhaul depending on how the new staff wants to construct the combination of pass-rush pressure and run-stopping.
Collins, 31, is not a long-term solution. And some of the other defensive pieces -- ends Everson Griffen and Romeo Okwara and safety Duron Harmon -- are free agents. Of that group, only Okwara is a player ascending into his prime.
Detroit has younger defensive pieces under contract to build around, starting with defensive lineman Trey Flowers, who at age 27 is hitting his prime. Corners Jeff Okudah and Amani Oruwariye and safety Tracy Walker in the secondary could be a strong future trio, and there is potential in edge rushers Julian Okwara and Austin Bryant along with defensive tackle John Penisini but injuries and not knowing what defensive scheme the new coach will run leaves it too early to predict who will be retained.
Only Flowers, Griffen, Romeo Okwara and perhaps Collins are scheme-agnostic. And two of them are free agents.
On offense, the question resides around quarterback Matthew Stafford and the team’s plan for him, something likely crafted by the new head coach and general manager. Stafford is a good player to have, whether you want to stick with him or try to trade him.
Moving on from him would signal a complete rebuild. Keeping him less so. Using Stafford as a bridge is the compromise option but could leave Detroit where its too often been -- in the middle. But the bridge could be the best option if the Lions find a rookie quarterback who they like but needs seasoning.
Detroit’s offensive roster, no matter the decision on Stafford, has some intriguing options. The receiver corps, as of now, has only Quintez Cephus under contract past this season among its top five, although Geronimo Allison does return from opting-out for 2021.
There is more promise on offense, with running back D’Andre Swift, tight end T.J. Hockenson and the left side of the offensive line -- tackle Taylor Decker, guard Jonah Jackson and center Frank Ragnow -- to work with. All of them except Decker, who is 27, are under age 25 so that’s a strong nucleus.
But the middle class of the roster -- on offense and on defense -- has a lot of short-and-long term questions.
Even special teams is in flux, with 39-year-old Don Muhlbach close to the end and 36-year-old Matt Prater a free agent after the season and having one of the shakiest years of his career. So there’s just not a lot of stability in any portion of the roster.
That’s a concern, although if Detroit commits to a rebuild it does buy a new coach time with only a few rough contracts the team likely can’t immediately shake out of (Halapoulivaati Vaitai and Collins). There are many more leaving the club with more holes but also more cap space (Desmond Trufant, Christian Jones, Danny Shelton, Nick Williams, Jesse James and Chase Daniel).
Over the Cap has the Lions at $13,761,410, which is OK but not great. And considering it’s not clear how much shifting could happen due to COVID-19, it could take longer to build the team in the new head coach’s vision if he doesn’t like the pieces already in place.
The history/intangibles
Detroit’s coaching history is well-known –- and it’s not good. In the modern era, the Lions have never had a head coach leave the franchise and ever get an NFL head-coaching job again. That could one day change -- Jim Schwartz and Jim Caldwell should be not-so-distant-future candidates -- but it’s something for coaches to consider because often, you only get one shot at this.
Of course, the ego of any head coach would also tell them this: If they can be the one to finally fix Detroit’s woeful franchise history and make them into real contenders, they’ll be a legend in the town. If they got to a Super Bowl -- and won one -- there would potentially be a statue in the city before that coach is even done with his tenure.
The fan base is loyal and passionate -- although often frustrated and dejected with the team’s history. The new coach will have some repairing to do after the Patricia era largely ended with fan apathy toward the team’s success or failure on the field.
Ford Field, when full and the team is winning, is as loud as almost any stadium in the NFL. It’s a nice facility with a good locker room. The team’s practice facility recently underwent renovations and has a lot of modernity, plus the franchise has shown it is willing to reshape the facility for new coaching staff if there’s something they truly need. Patricia, for instance, had a hill added for players to run on.
The Lions have also shown a willingness to spend in the past -- they put in $100 million to Ford Field changes. They have typically not shied away from paying free agents like Marvin Jones, Rick Wagner and T.J. Lang.
Ownership
What could work for whomever the Lions hire as head coach is the family’s history of patience. Yes, Sheila Ford Hamp is a new owner and is seemingly going to be more hands-on than either one of her parents.
The structure of the front office is something to also watch, although that might be a bigger deal for the general manager than the head coach, unless the head coach has a higher level of personnel power. Detroit's decision to hire Chris Spielman on Tuesday as a special assistant to Hamp and team president Rod Wood could offer some clarity and comfort of having someone with a football background advising the two highest-ranking officials in the organization.
But Wood also made clear neither the new general manager nor the new head coach will report to Spielman -- the exact pecking order of reporting is still unclear -- so he would not be their boss but just another avenue of resource.
Hamp also doesn’t seem like an owner who is going to fire a coach or general manager without letting them see through at least a good portion of their vision for where to take the franchise. The element of patience -- and the element of not being a micromanaging owner -- is something that could be attractive to a new head coach.
We’ve seen that patience displayed in the past, with Schwartz coaching in 2013 and even Patricia surviving the majority of the 2020 season. So the chances of a one-and-done situation with Detroit, which should be a concern for any head coaching candidate, is highly unlikely – especially considering it’s fairly well established Detroit is, at minimum, a half-rebuilding situation.
In the last 30 years, just three full-time Lions coaches have received less than three seasons: Patricia, Steve Mariucci and Marty Mornhinweg. Of course, of the Lions’ past five full-time head coaches, only Caldwell won more than 40% of his games as the head coach.
For a head-coaching candidate, this is something to feel good about. In a profession where job security is non-existent unless you win and, in many cases, win big, the Lions usually seem to at least give their coaches some semblance of time.