Lions hire former Texans offensive coordinator as Defensive Assistant-Special Projects

The Detroit Lions made a minor addition to their coaching staff on Tuesday morning. The team announced they hired George Godsey as their new defensive assistant-special projects. While the team did not detail what exactly that role entails, it’ll likely be similar to the job that Randy Edsall held last year as the “director of football research-special projects.” Edsall left the team in December to take a head coaching job with the University of Connecticut. Here’s how head coach Jim Caldwell described Edsall’s role with the team last year:

“He’s going to do a little bit of advanced scouting for us, taking a look at teams from a defensive standpoint to help our offense,” Caldwell said. “We’re going to have him work with a little bit of time management issues, clock management issues. Across the board, there’s going to be quite a few things.”

Godsey last held a position as the Houston Texans offensive coordinator. He was let go from the position in January, after the Texans finished 29th in scoring offense. Just three weeks into the season, Godsey was stripped of play-calling duties by Bill O’Brien. This offseason, Godsey was a candidate for the New York Jets’ offensive coordinator vacancy but failed to land the job.

Godsey also has a history with the New England Patriots, making him a familiar face to Lions general manager Bob Quinn. Back in 2012, Godsey was the team’s tight end coach.

Despite having a background solely on the offensive side of the ball—he also played quarterback—Godsey will help out on defense for the Lions, where Detroit needs a boatload of help. The team ranked 32nd in defensive DVOA per Football Outsiders and failed to produce a single Pro Bowl player in 2016.