Lions Request Interview With Jerry Gray

Adam Schefter is reporting that the Lions have requested an interview with Redskins secondary coach Jerry Gray.  Gray was the Bills' defensive coordinator from 2001 to 2005 and was teammates with Martin Mayhew on the 1993 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Speculation suggests that this may just be an interview to appease the Rooney Rule, as Gray is an African-American.  The fact that Mayhew and Gray were teammates also suggests that this may be an interview to get Gray's name out there if he doesn't get hired by Detroit.  I hope that is the case, as I don't want Gray to be hired for two big reasons.

The first reason is experience.  Although Gray was the Bills' defensive coordinator from 2001-2005, I would rather the Lions hire a coach with more experience than that.  There are coaches out there that have more experience, and I would prefer one of them be hired over someone like Gray.  Via Tom Kowalski, a few names to consider are Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, and Titans offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger.

The other big reason I would be against hiring Gray is the fact that he and Mayhew are former teammates and most likely friends.  The last thing the Lions need is people bringing in their friends or former teammates, as that seems like it could be a conflict of interests.  In some situations that could be a good thing, but I just don't see it as a positive with the Lions.