It looks like we’re close to Detroit Lions hiring their next coach. On Tuesday, team president Rod Wood told reporters that he assumes that one of the candidates they have already interviewed or scheduled for an interview with will be the team’s next coach.
This has dramatically changed our rankings as a candidate for Lions Head 6 Week Coach. There are currently only six candidates that we know have interviewed or will be interviewing the team. It is possible that there are more candidates that we do not know – in fact, there will almost certainly be. However, this also means that there are likely candidates in our power ratings (for which we have no confirmation of interviews) that have never really been considered.
We will try to resolve this in our latest ratings.
Rankings of the week 1
Week 2 Rankings
Week 3 ranking
Week 4 ranking
Week 5 Rankings
1 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh
Trends: Leader at club headquarters
There is a very good chance that Saleh trained in his last game as a defensive coordinator for the 49ers, and he left on a very solid note. Over the course of three quarters, the 49ers defense allowed only 109 yards of attack and six points for a Seattle Seahawks team that was trying to win the NFC one-seed.
Unfortunately, things came crashing down in the fourth quarter, when the Seahawks made three touchdowns and 91 running yards in just the final 15 minutes. To be fair, one of those scores came after the 49ers fumbled within their own 20-yard line, but it’s not exactly the end that Saleh expected.
Overall, Saleh seems to be the best candidate for the kind of qualities Lions are looking for, and his hometown roots make him a perfect match.
two Bosses offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy
Trends: Up
Being the second candidate to be interviewed for the position of Lions head coach has to mean something. Bieniemy is a hot contender everywhere, and while he may end up landing elsewhere, he is still clearly in the mix in Detroit.
There is little to take from the Chiefs’ performance in Week 17, as they beat their starters with the best seed from the AFC playoffs. However, I suppose optimists could point to Chad Henne’s line of statistics – 23 from 32 to 218 yards, 2 TDs and a passer rating of 111.2 – as a sign of good training.
3. Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma head coach
Trends: Constant
Oklahoma accumulated 55 points and 435 RACING YARD against Florida No. 7, en route to a complete Cotton Bowl break last week. Okay, the Gators were not considered a first-rate defensive team, but it was still a ridiculous OU performance.
Oklahoma will finish the season in seventh on points scored and 10 in yards per move.
The question with Riley is divided into two parts: Are Lions interested and is there any way to get him out of Oklahoma? The first is yet to be seen, but we will examine it for a second. Rod Wood said on Tuesday that from the interviews they have already requested, he believes they will find their next coach. Riley is not among the interviews reported so far, but interview requests for college coaches do not need to go through the NFL. They tend to be a little more secretive, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see one or two college technicians still involved.
As for getting Riley out of Oklahoma, it still seems pretty unlikely to me.
4 – Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell
Trends: Up
Like Riley, I believe Campbell certainly could still be in the mix simply because college interviews are more behind the scenes. As for their performance this week, the Cyclones scored touchdowns in four of their first five possessions and crossed to an easy 34-17 over the Oregon Ducks.
Iowa State ended the season 34th in the country with 332.9 points per game and 34th in yards per game (436.3). Not bad for a college that had never finished in the AP top 10 before Campbell arrived. They will almost certainly end there now.
5: Lions interim coach, Darrell Bevell
Trends: Constant
Bevell concluded his interview with the team on Tuesday, but I think the big news is how big the fan he has on the Lions board. Before even answering any questions from the media, here’s what the team president had to say about Bevell, completely spontaneously:
“I really want to commend Darrell Bevell and what he has really done in the past five weeks. It is a very difficult task to assume a temporary position as head coach during the season. I think the players have gathered around him. Darrell did a great job organizing things, so he was knocked down in the middle of his five-game extension with the COVID-19 situation and close contacts with the coaches we lost to the Bucs game. But even with that, I think we have overcome that and (that is) proof of that for Darrell. “
I am not entirely convinced that this was just a regular interview.
5. Assistant coach of Saints / TE coach Dan Campbell
Trends: New to the list
Campbell is reportedly one of the Lions interviews scheduled to take place next week, and as he made their list, he must be on this one too. Campbell has been the type of candidate who has been waiting behind the scenes for a few years, and this could be the year he will actually get a job.
He has been heavily involved in Santos’ successful racing game and is considered a great leader. He also didn’t spend his career in just one place, as he was the coach of the Dolphins for five years. He even had his chance as a head coach there, serving as a caretaker for the last two months of the season after Joe Philbin was fired. After a 1-3 start with Philbin, Campbell led the Dolphins to a 5-7 record in the final stretch. A team that has not scored more than 20 points in the first four games, averaged 20.4 in the last 12 games, including 82 points in the first two games as head coach.
6. Titans Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith
Trends: Up
Arthur Smith is currently on the short list of officially requested interviews, which already puts you in a good position. It also comes from another 40-bomb performance – the fifth of the Titans’ year – when they defeated the Texans in a last-second field goal to block AFC South.
Derrick Henry finished more than 2,000 running yards. Ryan Tannehill finished with the fifth highest passer rating in the NFL. The team was fourth in scoring, second in yards and fourth in DVOA.
The reason he is close to the bottom place among real Lions candidates is simply because he is in high demand. Literally, all six teams with a coach vacancy asked for an interview for him, and he just won’t accept them all. In fact, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press is reporting that Smith may not meet with Lions after all.
7. Ex Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis
Trends: New to the list
I’m still not sure how serious Marvin Lewis’s interview is, but the fact that it was the first Lions interview it is certainly significant. Perhaps Lions were simply looking for a veteran trainer to get some guidance, perhaps he is a serious candidate. Lewis certainly has all the personality requirements that Rod Wood said the team was prioritizing this time:
“I would say that they focus on leadership, culture, teamwork, awareness of each other’s strengths and weaknesses and what we’re really looking for is a culture that is open, inclusive, where everyone is united as a team, and in in a word, communication is key and everyone is doing the right thing for Detroit Lions. So, the people we look for and the people we bring to the interview ”.
8 Accounts offensive coordinator Brian Daboll
Trends: Cold
Daboll is a brilliant offensive mind, and he proved it again on Sunday, blowing up a very, very good defense from Dolphins with 56 points and 455 yards of attack, despite putting Josh Allen on the bench at halftime. The Bills had little to play for and the Dolphins had everything at stake. Still, Daboll’s attack destroyed the Dolphins defense that entered the week as the biggest goal defense. The Bills won so much that they finished sixth.
So why did Daboll fall at eight? Well, because there was not even a sign of interest from Lions. And after hearing Wood speak, it’s easy to see why.
Lions are interested in hiring a leader instead of a conspirator. I found this quote from Wood extremely revealing:
“As we progress through the interview process, we hope to find people in whom we are 100% sure that they will be the right people for the organization. And as I said in one of the previous calls, it is very different from how we approached the search for Bob (Quinn) and Matt (Patricia), where we were more focused on the candidates because of their achievements as opposed to the criteria they had been established before we start interviewing them. “
I just don’t think Daboll – who spends his game days at the booth – has yet established himself as the kind of leader Lions are looking for, despite impressive achievements on the pitch.
9. Northwestern technician, Pat Fitzgerald
Trends: back to the countdown
Northwestern used to be a laughing stock for the Big Ten, but now they have won four games of bowling in the past five years. Their last victory came against the Auburn Tigers in a 35-19 game that was short-lived in the third quarter, before the Wildcats scored three consecutive touchdowns.
The inconsistently trusted Jason La Canfora says Lions are one of three teams that “have it in mind” and says Fitzgerald will evaluate his options in the coming days. Fitzgerald has declined requests several times in the past, so he still looks like an unlikely hiring, but he is certainly one of the few college coaches who could get into that research late.
10. Colts defense coordinator Matt Eberflus
Trends: Low
The Colts found their way into the postseason thanks to another solid defensive performance. Mike Glennon was sacked six times and got in the way once, as Indianapolis allowed only 283 yards of total attack and 4.4 yards per move. Okay, that was against the Jaguars. This week’s playoff game against Bills should put the Eberflus unit to the test.
However, it is trending down again, because it seems that there is little interest on the Lions side. Detroit can’t interview Eberflus until next week, but we haven’t heard a peep yet. I’m not sure if we see another current NFL coach getting into the mix.
Off the list: Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman
Trends: Low
After some criticism in the middle of the season, Roman seems to have the Ravens’ attack going in the right direction just in time for the postseason. After averaging just 20.6 points per game in Weeks 8-12, the Ravens ended the season with an average of 37.2 points per game in the last five.
Lions cannot interview Roman yet, but like Eberflus, there just doesn’t seem to be much excitement between the two. It may be time to stop dreaming about this one.
Out of list: old Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer
Trends: Low
Although Meyer may be another former college coach who enters research late, it looks like he can cost a lot (or not?) and the Jaguars seem to be the most interested team. Given his shallow past, I’m not sure if he’s the type of cultural hire Lions are looking for, even with Chris Spielman’s ties to OSU.