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With the Detroit Lions hiring Jim Caldwell as head coach, their focus is now on assembling the rest of their coaching staff. It looks as though Baltimore Ravens secondary coach Teryl Austin has been hired as the Lions' new defensive coordinator, but who else might be joining Caldwell in Detroit? There are several names worth keeping in mind.
On the defensive side of the ball, Austin is apparently already interviewing potential assistants:
Teryl Austin’s agreement to be #Lions DC is done, per source. He’s interviewing Vance Joseph (Texans) and Bill Sheridan (Bucs) as assistants
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 16, 2014
Vance Joseph was the Houston Texans' defensive backs coach from 2011-13. Before that, he coached the secondary for the San Francisco 49ers from 2006-10. I'm assuming he's interviewing for the same position in Detroit -- to be the Lions' secondary coach.
Bill Sheridan, who is a Detroit native, most recently served as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defensive coordinator. He's got a lot of experience coaching linebackers (with the Miami Dolphins, the New York Giants, Michigan, Michigan State and a few other stops), and he apparently recently spoke with the Chicago Bears about joining their coaching staff.
Sheridan spoke to Bears but wants to go home to Det. RT @RapSheet: Lions interviewing Vance Joseph (Texans) + Bill Sheridan (Bucs) as assts.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 16, 2014
On the offensive side of the ball, former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel has been the subject of a lot of speculation because he's got such strong ties to Caldwell. One report from ESPN actually suggested that a deal is already in place for Tressel to join the Lions, but a different report on Thursday said that there has been "no meaningful contact between parties."
There's also a lot of speculation surrounding Indianapolis Colts quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen for the Lions' offensive coordinator role. Considering Christensen was Caldwell's offensive coordinator in Indy from 2009-11 and worked alongside him for 11 seasons, he probably has a pretty good shot at landing the Detroit offensive coordinator job.
