Monday open thread: Would you approve of Paul Pasqualoni as the Lions’ next defensive coordinator?

In a week’s time, the Detroit Lions won’t have to wait any longer to officially hire Matt Patricia as their next head coach. But that’s just where the fun begins. From there, the Lions will have to build out their entire defensive coaching staff, and as of now, there are very little indications as to who Patricia will choose to fill out the other vacancies.

Last week, we got our first taste of who could potentially be on the next staff. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that current Boston College defensive line coach (and former Dolphins and Cowboys defensive coordinator) Paul Pasqualoni has emerged as a candidate for the defensive coordinator job in Detroit. Though Rapoport walked that back a little later, saying that Pasqualoni has yet to interview and may, instead, be up for a “senior position” (not necessarily DC), he’s still an interesting name to be tied to the Lions.

So today’s Question of the Day is:

Would you approve of the decision to make Paul Pasqualoni the Lions’ next defensive coordinator?

My answer: I wouldn’t be absolutely thrilled with it, but I’d ultimately be fine with it. Chances are very good that whoever the Lions bring aboard to be the defensive coordinator will essentially just be an assistant to Patricia on that side of the ball. I fully expect Patricia to do most of the things a defensive coordinator would do, including calling the plays.

If that’s the case, having a seasoned guy like Pasqualoni (age 68) on staff will be helpful assisting with all of the head coaching duties that Patricia is unfamiliar with. Pasqualoni has over 15 years of head coaching experience in college football, so he’d certainly be of help there.

And perhaps his best asset is his mastery of defensive line play. Detroit lost a good defensive line coach in Kris Kocurek, but Pasqualoni would help fill that void nicely. He’s helped build the careers of Demarcus Ware, Jadeveon Clowney and future NFL player Harold Landry. Here’s what Yahoo’s Pete Thamel had to say about Pasqualoni:

Along the way, he earned a reputation as a technical savant. His knowledge of chops, stabs and side scissors – the pass-rush techniques he expounds on daily – may be matched only by his passion for teaching them. “It’s like getting your master’s degree in defensive line play,” former Boston College assistant Al Washington says of Pasqualoni. “He brought instant credibility.”

Considering the massive amount of help the Lions need on the defensive line, this is the kind of hire I can get behind. While I’d prefer a title more like “defensive line coach/assistant head coach,” I can get behind Pasqualoni as defensive coordinator.

Your turn.