4 months ago
ALLEN PARK -- For nan 2nd consecutive offseason, nan Detroit Lions are successful nan marketplace for a caller violative coordinator.
John Morton is retired aft 1 year. It took only 2 days for Dan Campbell to travel to that decision, but nary of that is astonishing aft having to return nan reins of his discourtesy successful nan mediate of nan season.
One sanction has already been reported to beryllium connected nan team’s radar. We’ll screen 2 soul options on pinch immoderate pinch connections to Campbell and Co., and immoderate caller faces. Last year, Campbell prioritized personification pinch familiarity and who said nan aforesaid connection arsenic him and wanted to beryllium astir their identity.
That made consciousness astatine nan time, based connected nan occurrence of nan discourtesy and returning pieces. But possibly Campbell looks astatine this latest hunt arsenic a chance to respire immoderate caller life into his violative approach.
David Blough, Washington Commanders adjunct QB coach
We’ll get the first reported name and past 2 soul options retired of nan measurement first. David Blough is simply a fast-rising coach who first talked astir his liking successful coaching erstwhile serving arsenic a backup backmost here.
Blough worked nether Dan Campbell, Ben Johnson and Jared Goff successful 2021 and 2023. He was pinch nan Lions from 2019 to 2021, and past for different stint successful 2023. Johnson moreover credited him for coming up pinch a trick-play creation they utilized against nan Cowboys, calling it nan “Boilermaker” for nan erstwhile Purdue QB.
The 30-year-old has been nan adjunct quarterbacks coach for nan Commanders for 2 years. He took complete nan room this past play to decorativeness nan twelvemonth erstwhile Tavita Pritchard took complete arsenic Stanford’s caput coach. He’s been a coveted rising coach successful Washington, pinch nan Commanders blocking him from interviewing for 3 jobs past year. They can’t artifact this request, arsenic it would correspond a promotion for Blough.
Blough has ne'er called plays, truthful this could beryllium a business wherever Dan Campbell retains nan domiciled while moving intimately pinch his erstwhile backup quarterback.
“Look, I emotion nan kid if I’m being wholly honorable pinch you,” Campbell said of Blough successful 2021. “He’s conscionable a small shot player. And erstwhile I opportunity that, I mean that successful nan highest regard.
“He’s smart. He’s highly smart. He knows wherever to spell pinch nan football, I emotion his timing. He knows really to bid nan huddle. He communicates well, and connected apical of that, he’s a hellhole of a dude, by nan way.”
Scottie Montgomery, Detroit Lions WRs coach and adjunct caput coach
Scottie Montgomery has worked nether Campbell for 3 seasons. Montgomery has a heavy background, serving arsenic East Carolina’s caput coach and calling plays astatine Duke and Maryland passim his career. He’s coached nan moving backs and receivers present successful Detroit and knows nan discourtesy amended than most.
He’s interviewed for violative coordinator jobs pinch nan Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers successful caller years, and was 1 of 3 get an question and reply successful Detroit for nan position past year. Perhaps it’s clip to displacement coaches astir to springiness Montgomery a shot.
Hank Fraley, Detroit Lions OL coach and tally crippled coordinator
Hank Fraley said pinch nan Seattle Seahawks for their OC occupation past year. He’s remained willing successful kicking nan tires connected chances to telephone plays and return a larger domiciled connected offense. It was a reliable twelvemonth for Detroit’s violative line, and nan moving crippled was wildly inconsistent. But Fraley has to beryllium considered among nan apical names if Campbell wants to proceed calling plays.
Those 2 could activity together connected nan moving game, make nan violative statement nan offseason priority, and, for illustration Montgomery, bring a level of familiarity to nan operation.
Davis Webb, Broncos passing crippled coordinator, QBs coach
Davis Webb is different 30-year-old erstwhile backup backmost to get immoderate emotion successful this year’s coaching market. The Las Vegas Raiders requested to speak pinch Webb astir their head-coaching position -- his first done his three-year coaching career.
Webb checks 1 important box, and that is his acquisition moving nether Sean Payton successful Denver. If a coach speaks Payton’s language, past it’s adjacent to presume they speak Campbell’s language, too. Webb has been nan quarterbacks coach for nan Broncos since 2023, replacing Morton arsenic nan passing crippled coordinator erstwhile he near for Detroit.
Webb’s activity pinch rising backmost Bo Nix and nether Payton’s guidance is judge to make him a celebrated campaigner successful nan coming weeks.
Todd Monken, Baltimore Ravens violative coordinator
Sure, Todd Monken hasn’t worked pinch Dan Campbell before. But they banked connected familiarity and a shared narration past year, and really did that go?
Longtime coach John Harbaugh is retired successful Baltimore, starring 1 to judge Todd Monken could beryllium connected nan move arsenic 1 of nan apical names connected nan market. The Athletic moreover reports Harbaugh refused to occurrence Monken, starring to immoderate disagreements. Monken has a ton of acquisition arsenic an violative coordinator, calling plays, and is nary alien to nan authorities of Michigan.
Monken has led a top-five scoring discourtesy successful 2 retired of nan past 3 seasons. Last season, nan Ravens became nan first NFL squad to person much than 4,000 passing yards and 3,000 rushing yards successful nan aforesaid season.
Monken worked astatine Grand Valley State and Eastern Michigan, and has been an violative coordinator successful nan NFL pinch nan Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, Georgia and for nan erstwhile 3 seasons successful Baltimore. The seasoned violative coach is expected to question and reply pinch nan Browns for their head-coaching position. Monken antecedently said pinch Michigan astir nan school’s caput occupation earlier Kyle Whittingham was hired.
Brian Daboll, erstwhile New York Giants coach
When nan Giants fired Brian Daboll aft a 2-8 start, his sanction instantly came to mind arsenic 1 to watch successful Detroit. It was astir that clip Campbell took complete for Morton arsenic play-caller, pinch it seeming apt nan Lions would beryllium successful nan marketplace for a caller OC.
Daboll and Campbell worked together successful 2011 successful Miami and joined forces for a information of associated practices successful Allen Park. The erstwhile Giants coach built his sanction arsenic Buffalo’s violative coordinator from 2018 to 2021, moving pinch a processing Josh Allen astatine quarterback. Daboll besides coached nether Nick Saban and Bill Belichick, truthful he’s seen it from immoderate of nan best.
“I told him, he’s a chameleon. This guy’s unbelievable,” Campbell said of Daboll successful 2024. “Man, I admit our clip together. He is 1 of nan smartest shot minds I’ve been around. You talk astir reasoning fast, man. He tested america arsenic a staff, and I learned a ton of shot astir him. So here’s what I would opportunity is, he’s continued to turn for illustration immoderate awesome coach has and he evolved. I mean, what he was doing successful Buffalo was not what we were doing location (Miami).
“There were akin concepts, but he evolved pinch what nan roster and that backmost said he was going to germinate to, what was going to make them best, and that’s what he’s done present and what he will do here. He’s a hellhole of a coach, he is. I mean, you don’t do what you did a twelvemonth agone without being capable to coach, truthful I sewage a batch of respect for Dabes.”
Zac Robinson, Atlanta Falcons violative coordinator
Zac Robinson is different erstwhile backmost who spent immoderate clip arsenic a backup successful nan NFL, including a stint successful Detroit. He’s worked intimately pinch Sean McVay, rising connected nan unit successful Los Angeles, moving arsenic Jared Goff’s adjunct quarterbacks coach successful 2019.
Robinson was an adjunct wide receivers coach for nan Rams successful 2020, past went backmost to quarterbacks earlier taking complete arsenic nan passing crippled coordinator from 2022 to 2023. He’s been Atlanta’s violative coordinator for 2 seasons and is different sanction to watch pinch Raheem Morris out. A erstwhile narration pinch Goff and coming from Los Angeles, while wide head Brad Holmes was there, ne'er hurts erstwhile trying to link nan dots and place candidates.
Pete Carmichael Jr., Denver Broncos elder violative adjunct
If Campbell is looking for a veteran, trusted option, it’s difficult to look past Pete Carmichael Jr. Dan Campbell and Carmichael spent 5 seasons together successful New Orleans. Campbell was nan Saints adjunct caput coach and tight ends coach while Carmichael was violative coordinator -- a position he held for 15 seasons nether Payton and past Dennis Allen.
Carmichael has been backmost pinch Payton successful Denver for nan past 2 seasons arsenic a elder violative assistant. Campbell moreover mentioned Carmichael arsenic personification who played a awesome domiciled successful influencing him during his introductory property convention successful Detroit backmost successful 2021.
Whether Campbell is looking to telephone nan plays aliases manus them off, Carmichael’s spot and familiarity make him a sanction to watch.
Ronald Curry, Buffalo Bills quarterbacks coach
Ronald Curry besides sewage a shoutout from Campbell erstwhile he was being introduced arsenic Lions coach 5 years ago. The brace joined Payton’s unit successful New Orleans astatine nan aforesaid time, and surely speak nan aforesaid language.
Curry has not been a coordinator aliases play-caller since joining nan NFL coaching ranks successful 2014. But he worked arsenic an violative assistant, receivers coach, quarterbacks coach and passing crippled coordinator successful New Orleans nether Payton and past Dennis Allen for a mixed 8 seasons. He’s been nan Bills backmost coach for nan past 2 years, and is yet different sanction connected this database who spent a cup of beverage pinch nan Lions arsenic a subordinate (2009).
Kevin Stefanski, erstwhile Cleveland Browns caput coach
It would beryllium shocking if Kevin Stefanski did not onshore a head-coaching position during this cycle. It’s difficult to look astatine nan Browns and pin their organizational failures connected nan shoulders of nan two-time NFL Coach of nan Year. But arsenic we’ve said, nan violative coordinator position successful Detroit is an enticing 1 if Stefanski isn’t successful emotion pinch immoderate of nan options connected nan marketplace this year. It would apt beryllium a short-term marriage, arsenic it’s easy to ideate Stefanski getting different changeable to lead a franchise sooner than later. But he’s nan type of violative mind that would beryllium worthy that level of risk.
Stefanski was nan violative coordinator successful Minnesota for 2 years earlier landing nan occupation successful Cleveland. It’s not easy to triumph pinch nan Browns, and while it ended ugly, his way grounds of doing much pinch little is impressive.
Other names to watch:
- John Van Dam, 41, Jaguars walk crippled specialist
- Nate Scheelhaase, Rams Pass crippled coordinator
- Mike LaFleur, Rams violative coordinator
- Mike Kafka, Giants violative coordinator/interim coach
- Antwaan Randle El, Bears WRs coach and adjunct caput coach
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