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A sixth candidate has emerged in the Detroit Lions’ head coaching search. According to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero, the Lions have requested an interview with Packers assistant head coach/linebackers coach Winston Moss:
Add another name to the #Lions head coaching search. I'm told they put in a request to interview longtime #Packers assistant Winston Moss.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 1, 2018
Moss is an interesting candidate for a few reasons. First, the Packers just purged nearly their entire defensive coaching staff on Monday. Defensive coordinator Dom Capers was first fired, but soon after, defensive line coach Mike Trgovac and assistant linebackers coach Scott McCurley were let go, as well.
Moss survived the firings likely because he has been such a trusted force in the coaching staff. While Capers, Trgovac and McCurley have only been around since 2008 or 2009, Moss has been a linebacker coach since 2006 and was quickly promoted to the assistant head coach position in 2007.
Moss is clearly valued in the Packers organization, hence why he survived the Monday’s firings, and it’s easy to see why they do. Green Bay has churned out some impressive linebackers during his tenure, including Nick Perry, Clay Matthews and 2017’s revelation: Blake Martinez.
That could be valuable to a team like the Detroit Lions, who have two young linebackers in Jarrad Davis and Jalen Reeves-Maybin. The development of those two linebackers is crucial to the future of this defense, although that wouldn’t exactly be Moss’ job if he was the head coach.
Moss is now the fifth defensive-minded coach to be linked to the Lions head coaching vacancy. Here’s a list of the six candidates the Lions have reportedly requested to interview: