Lions denied permission to interview Chris Tabor, according to report

As the Detroit Lions work to fill the vacancies on their coaching staff, news is slowly starting to come out about their search for new assistants. On Monday morning, for example, there was a report that the Lions decided to hire Jacksonville Jaguars tight ends coach Bobby Johnson. And on Sunday morning, one day earlier, there was a report that the Lions were denied a request to interview Cleveland Browns special teams coach Chris Tabor.

Six teams - OAK, KC, DET, CHI, CAR, IND - have asked to interview Browns ST coach Chris Tabor and Cleveland has denied permission on Tabor.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 13, 2013

I know what you're probably thinking right now. The Lions didn't fire special teams coordinator Danny Crossman, so why were they trying to interview another team's special teams coach? Like with Johnson, the Lions probably had interest in Tabor to coach another position. Tabor may coach special teams now, but he has a history of coaching running backs with college teams. Specifically, he has previously served as the running backs coach for Missouri, Utah State and Western Michigan.

I actually like Tabor's résumé quite a bit as a special teams coach, and given how the Lions' special teams performed in 2012, I'd be on board with him replacing Crossman. However, with Crossman set to return, it certainly looks as though the Lions had interest in Tabor as a running backs coach. With the Browns denying them permission to interview Tabor, they will have to go in another direction.

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