It didn’t exactly break news Sunday night when the Detroit Lions fired Jim Caldwell. Though Caldwell did a decent job of taking this franchise from a laughingstock to one that could at least contend for a playoff spot most years, higher expectations led to his dismissal.
Now, the Detroit job has more appeal than it has had in decades, leaving the next man in line a huge opportunity to bring the Lions their first Super Bowl.
Who will be the next Lions head coach? The odds to be the next Lions head coach were released on Monday. Here’s a breakdown of all the favorites:
Matt Patricia (+430) – The Patriots’ defensive coordinator has long been a coveted coach, but many believed he wasn’t quite ready for his first head coaching gig, until now. The job he has done in-season in 2017 with a New England defense that was shredded early in the year is remarkable. He’s a blue-collared guy who shows up on the sidelines wearing a hoodie and carrying a regular No. 2 pencil in his ear. That type of personality should play well in Motown. With a defensive overhaul needed, Patricia makes all the sense in the world in Motown.
Steve Wilks (+825) – Wilks is one of the fastest-rising names in the coaching industry. He was the defensive backs coach for the Panthers under Sean McDermott, but when McDermott left for his first coaching gig in Buffalo, Wilks was promoted to defensive coordinator. He’s only had one year on the job in charge of the Panthers defense, but he is largely looked upon as the mastermind behind this unit. Wilks would certainly make the Detroit defense more aggressive, and that’s going to make him a popular candidate.
2018 NFL Head Coach Odds & Candidates
Chicago Bears
Detroit Lions
Indianapolis Colts
New York Giants
Mike Vrabel (+935) – There’s no doubt that Vrabel is going to be a head coach one day, but this would be really soon for him to snare his first head coaching gig. He’s only been the defensive coordinator with the Texans for one season, and he was a fast-rising low-level assistant before that. If the Lions believe he’s the long-term answer, they won’t balk at giving Vrabel a shot.
Teryl Austin (+1585) – It’s going to be a tough sell for the Lions to hire Austin after his boss, Jim Caldwell, was just fired. The Lions have been relatively impressive defensively, particularly when you consider the lack of talent they’ve had on that side of the ball, but it doesn’t feel progressive to promote from within.
Pat Shurmur (+1585) – Shurmur feels like a longshot, too, but at least we know he has received permission to talk to the Lions. There’s no doubt that Shumur did a fantastic job coaching the Vikings’ offense in a year that Dalvin Cook was lost for the season in Week 4 and both Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater fought through injuries. Still, it’s hard to forget about the disaster that was his two years in Cleveland as the Browns head man.
Dave Toub (+1920) – Someone is going to eventually make Toub a head coach in the NFL, but it’s going to take a revolutionary team who wants to be the best in the NFL on special teams. Toub has been a special teams guru during his career, and he’s going to need some darn good coordinators around him on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. The Lions could retain both Jim Bob Cooter and Teryl Austin if they hired Toub. Don’t discount the possibility.
Mike Smith (+2150) – Smith’s stock cooled down a lot this year after the poor performance of the Tampa Bay offense, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to get a few looks. Smith feels like he has some more proving to do before he’s put back in charge of a team even though he was incredibly successful in Atlanta.
Field (-295) – The possibilities here are endless. David Shaw? Jim Harbaugh? Todd Haley? Jim Bob Cooter? Frank Reich? The bottom line is that we don’t know who the Detroit coach is going to be at this point, but you can bet that a really wide net is going to be cast across the country to try to bring the best candidate to Motown.
