Wednesday Notes: Bowles Interviews Again; Rivera to Meet with Mayhew Today

by Sean Yuille on Jan 14, 2009 8:22 AM EST in Notes Comment 0 comments

Dolphins assistant head coach/secondary coach Todd Bowles interviewed with the Lions on Tuesday, and just like Jim Schwartz, he spoke with the media afterward. There weren't that many noteworthy things, but Bowles did talk about his blueprint for a turnaround (he has been part of a couple in the past), how he would like to switch to a 3-4 defense, and what he would do with the #1 overall pick.

“We sit down and we try to make a collaborative effort of what's best for our team. There's going to be a great player there obviously being the first pick in the draft, but he has to be great for our team. We have to fill a lot of voids, we have to find out which void we have to fill first, so I'll sit down with Mr. (Tom) Lewand and Mr. (Martin) Mayhew if I'm the coach and we'll discuss what we need to do.”
Although he isn't at the top of my list, Bowles certainly sounds prepared and ready to take this type of job. I still would prefer a few other candidates to Bowles, but I can't say that I would be angered if he was ultimately hired.
Adam Schefter believes that Bowles is actually "the sleeper" candidate in Detroit.
Although it was believed that Chargers defensive coordinator Ron Rivera was going to interview with the Lions on Tuesday, he didn't. Instead he will interview with the Lions today at the site of the East-West Shrine Game in Houston, Texas. Martin Mayhew and Rivera are both apparently going to be down in Houston to scout college players, and the two are expected to meet up for an interview.
The Colts introduced Tony Dungy's replacement, Jim Caldwell, on Tuesday.
Ball State quarterback Nate Davis is going to enter the NFL Draft. To keep track of all the players going pro, check out Buffalo Rumblings' early entrants tracker.
Former Lions defensive coordinator Joe Barry was supposed to become the Seahawks' linebackers coach, but apparently he changed his mind at the last minute. He now will visit Tampa Bay, as the Bucs need a new linebackers coach. The Bucs' old one actually went to Seattle to become the Seahawks' defensive coordinator, creating the opening for someone like Barry to fill.
The Chiefs hired Scott Pioli as their new general manager, meaning there will likely be another coaching vacancy in the near future. It is expected that Herm Edwards will be let go, and Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who worked with Pioli in the past, could probably be a candidate. Schwartz was in Allen Park on Monday to meet with the Lions for a second time, so Detroit may be wise to act quickly if Edwards isn't retained by Pioli.

The one other thing I want to mention about this hire is that it will be interesting to see how the Chiefs do in the future. I and many others made it known that we wanted Pioli to be hired as the Lions' GM, but obviously that never came close to happening. I think the Chiefs are farther along than the Lions when it comes to rebuilding in a sense, but it will still be interesting to compare the two teams in the future.

UPDATE: According to a source of Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, Pioli and Schwartz "despise each other." I guess we won't have to worry about Schwartz going to Kansas City after all.