Lions Reportedly Hire Marcus Robertson As Defensive Assistant

All of the Detroit Lions' main coaches from last season are coming back for next season. The head coach, coordinators and position coaches are all under contract for the 2012 season, meaning there will once again be continuity with the coaching staff.

The one spot on the staff the Lions did need to fill was a defensive assistant position. The vacancy was created when Brandon Fisher left Detroit to coach with his dad, Jeff Fisher, in St. Louis. According to Alex Marvez, Fisher's replacement is Marcus Robertson, who will assist secondary coach Tim Walton.

Robertson, who was a safety in the NFL from 1991-2002, played for the Tennessee Titans franchise for the first 10 years of his career. After he retired, he joined the Titans front office as the team's director of player development. He entered coaching in 2007 as the Titans assistant secondary coach and served as the Titans main secondary coach from 2009-11.

Robertson's time in Tennessee overlapped with Jim Schwartz's tenure with the Titans in different ways. Robertson was with the Titans as a player when Schwartz was a defensive assistant in 1999 and 2000. Robertson was also there as a front office executive and later a defensive assistant when Schwartz was the defensive coordinator, so there is definitely some familiarity there.

Of course, there is also some familiarity between Robertson and Cortland Finnegan, who is already being linked to the Lions. Robertson's hiring will likely only increase the speculation that Finnegan will ultimately end up signing with the Lions once free agency begins.