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Caldwell fired

diehardlionfan

By diehardlionfan
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LionArkie

LionArkie

Posted
Posted

Am I the only one who is scratching his head on Vrabel?  I don't want him at all.  I am really wondering if we should have let Caldwell go, but it's done and I'm by no means a fan of his.  I just don't see anything out there I like right now.  So with the rumored coaches, here would be my list in order, which for me, is a complete crap shoot.

  1. Steve Wilks - Like his demeanor, like his presence, consistently puts out good defenses
  2. Pat Shurmur - Like he has HC experience, did a lot with a little at MN, is seasoned
  3. Matt Patricia - Like he is smart, NE fans seem to want him as their next HC, I'm not a fan of coaches out of the NE system
  4. Teryl Austin - I think he will be an average coach somewhere.  I honestly don't think he would be an improvement over Caldwell, and if he is, only slightly.
  5. Josh McDaniels - Just no, but at least he has HC experience
  6. Mike Vrabel - Ok, I do like him as a player, and his leadership skills, but I'm not at all impressed with his dc job in Houston and only one year at that.  If the argument is "he had injuries there", then I would point back to Shurmur.  I would like to see Vrabel get more experience coaching first.
  7. Jim Bob Cooter - Stafford would love it, but I don't think we could win.  Whose fault was it we couldn't run, Caldwell's or Cooters.
  8. Winston Moss - Please give me Vrabel if it comes to this!

So, if this is my list, can I please have either Wilks or Shurmur?  I think those are the only two who we may have a chance at being better than Caldwell was. Furthermore, if this is my list, can I add Schwartz to it? I always hated to see him go, even if he was a little tough to stomach sometimes.

 

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Karnage84

Karnage84

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Posted
24 minutes ago, LionArkie said:

Am I the only one who is scratching his head on Vrabel?  I don't want him at all.  I am really wondering if we should have let Caldwell go, but it's done and I'm by no means a fan of his.  I just don't see anything out there I like right now.  So with the rumored coaches, here would be my list in order, which for me, is a complete crap shoot.

  1. Steve Wilks - Like his demeanor, like his presence, consistently puts out good defenses
  2. Pat Shurmur - Like he has HC experience, did a lot with a little at MN, is seasoned
  3. Matt Patricia - Like he is smart, NE fans seem to want him as their next HC, I'm not a fan of coaches out of the NE system
  4. Teryl Austin - I think he will be an average coach somewhere.  I honestly don't think he would be an improvement over Caldwell, and if he is, only slightly.
  5. Josh McDaniels - Just no, but at least he has HC experience
  6. Mike Vrabel - Ok, I do like him as a player, and his leadership skills, but I'm not at all impressed with his dc job in Houston and only one year at that.  If the argument is "he had injuries there", then I would point back to Shurmur.  I would like to see Vrabel get more experience coaching first.
  7. Jim Bob Cooter - Stafford would love it, but I don't think we could win.  Whose fault was it we couldn't run, Caldwell's or Cooters.
  8. Winston Moss - Please give me Vrabel if it comes to this!

So, if this is my list, can I please have either Wilks or Shurmur?  I think those are the only two who we may have a chance at being better than Caldwell was. Furthermore, if this is my list, can I add Schwartz to it? I always hated to see him go, even if he was a little tough to stomach sometimes.

 

There's only 4 guys that I would like to see out of that list - Wilks and Patricia are sort of 1a and 1b. Vrabel would be 2 and Shurmur 3. I'd like to see JBC retained due to his rapport with Stafford. I'll give him benefit of the doubt on the run game for now but it would need to be improved moving forward. This would only really happen if we are to get a coach with a defensive mind. The offense is productive but has areas to improve: Overall protection of Stafford, red zone efficiency, start faster, 3rd down conversions, improve run game. We have two 1,000 yard receivers, a stud rookie WR, Ebron seems to have improved, a solid pass catching RB and a top 10 QB. Wilks seems like a safer pick and possibly add an extra win or two on Caldwell. Patricia seems to be a more volatile pick but could vault us into an annual playoff attendance and perennial SB contender. Or we could wind up at 6-10 and looking for another HC in 3 years.

Vrabel is the biggest wildcard. He could turn out to be an incredible coach but I feel this is far too early for him. I think he needs more experience as a DC before jumping into the HC spot. I don't think the Lions should go this route. There are guys who are more qualified at this time.

I personally don't see JBC or Austin as HC material, especially for Detroit. Neither has been exceptional and there are better candidates available for the role. I wouldn't be surprised to see Austin wind up in Cincy. I wouldn't dislike having him stay here along with JBC in their current roles under a new HC. I do have a tough time seeing that happen though.

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Superduperman

Superduperman

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I still have reservations about Patricia. He's been great in that NE system, and he's top-level smart and hard working by all accounts. But he's never done anything of his own outside of that system and there's no evidence of any kind how he'll react to having the lead role and getting the lead blame. Or how his highly praised analytical skills will translate to being the head of the show and delegating a lot of the fine details.

I sort of assumed Wilks was a Rooney Rule interview but that video was informative to be sure. He seems to have the demeanor. But until last year the highest position he's held in the NFL was defensive backs coach.

I'm warming up to the possibility of Shurmur. He's a football guy through and through, and a Dearborn and MSU product. It seems like no one should have their record with the Browns held against them. If you were hiring simply to fix the team's biggest weakness, the run game, then Shurmur would be your #1 choice by a mile.

I don't hate the idea of Vrabel either. He seems most likely to me to be next year's Sean McVay if he gets a job. Also, call it superstition or even something more dishonest, but Vrabel is one of those star names of the league who always seem to succeed, but never seem to come here, player or coach. I just feel like it's way more than a 50/50 chance that wherever he gets a gig, he'll be excellent.

So really I'd be OK with any of those 4 guys, they all have good and bad points, but mostly good. I don't see anyone outside of these guys I'd want.

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Nnivolcm

Nnivolcm

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46 minutes ago, Superduperman said:

I sort of assumed Wilks was a Rooney Rule interview but that video was informative to be sure. He seems to have the demeanor. But until last year the highest position he's held in the NFL was defensive backs coach.

I don't think Wilks was ever a Rooney Rule interview because they were clearly going to interview Austin as well.

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SimbaWho

SimbaWho

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Posted

Ah, man, this is stupid imo. We're giving the keys to a playoff ready franchise to a first time head coach with no head coaching experience. Not happy about it.

Hopefully the man does really well and proves me wrong and is a great coach but moves like this are why I'm definitely not committing much "time" into Lions football next year. Can't say I'll quit watching cause I love football and I will always like my home team but now idk, everything they do doesn't seem as important as lets say two months ago when I though the franchise was being ran legitimately like real contenders.

This hire, now, imo just screams Bob Quinn ego here. Hopefully Lions get better but I doubt it with a first time head coach learning on the job basically.

I know some people didn't even really want Caldwell fired and I'm starting to lean that way myself. I'm just not seeing where Patricia is going to propel us forward with his in game play calling and game management that we'll be more than average.

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Spico1i

Spico1i

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My biggest concern over a Patricia hire is whether or not that means that the Lions switch to a 3-4 Defense.  If they do switch I think the Defense is almost in rebuilding mode because their current personnel doesn't fit that system. 

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Nnivolcm

Nnivolcm

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6 minutes ago, Spico1i said:

My biggest concern over a Patricia hire is whether or not that means that the Lions switch to a 3-4 Defense.  If they do switch I think the Defense is almost in rebuilding mode because their current personnel doesn't fit that system. 

I think the defensive front needs a massive make over this off season regardless of if they go 3-4 or stay 4-3. The only significant investments Quin made in the front 7 last season was drafting Davis and Reeves-Maybin, who I think could fit as 3-4 ILBs

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Spico1i

Spico1i

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2 hours ago, Nnivolcm said:

I think the defensive front needs a massive make over this off season regardless of if they go 3-4 or stay 4-3. The only significant investments Quin made in the front 7 last season was drafting Davis and Reeves-Maybin, who I think could fit as 3-4 ILBs

Personally, I don't think their D-Line needs a massive make over, but more of a retooling.  I think the big questions surrounding Ansah and Ngata.  With Ansah, I think they will either franchise or re-sign him to a long term deal and then bring Ngata back for a year.

 

As far as a LBs, I see Davis and Reeves-Maybin as more effective 4-3 LBs...but I'm guessing that they could adjust to a 3-4 also.

 

The biggest issue of switching to a 3-4, imo, is trying to find the pass rushers.  I don't think we have any guys that would fit as a 3-4 OLB pass rusher.  But maybe that is just me.

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SirA1

SirA1

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7 hours ago, Spico1i said:

My biggest concern over a Patricia hire is whether or not that means that the Lions switch to a 3-4 Defense.  If they do switch I think the Defense is almost in rebuilding mode because their current personnel doesn't fit that system. 

Patriots haven't run a pure 3-4 in years. Patricia will make the best use of personnel.

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