Report: Oakland Raiders seeking to hire Teryl Austin as assistant head coach/DB coach

While it almost seems like a foregone conclusion that current Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin will be under contract for a different team in 2018, there’s been an interesting development in his future destination.

Last night, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport suggested that Austin was in negotiations to become the next defensive coordinator with the Cincinnati Bengals. “Austin is still alive for the #Lions HC job at this point. Absent that, he’s likely headed to Cincy,” Rapoport tweeted on Sunday night.

However, a new team has emerged in the Austin sweepstakes, and it’s the Jon Gruden-led Oakland Raiders:

That deal with the Raiders is interesting, because it both is and isn’t a promotion from defensive coordinator. Austin has long been considered a head coaching candidate so the “assistant head coach” title would be a step in the right direction. However, he wouldn’t be a coordinator anymore, but instead, a defensive backs coach.

Either way, it’s becoming more and more apparent that Austin is almost certainly on his way out of Detroit. Unless he emerges as a surprise front-runner for the Lions’ head coaching job, Austin will be elsewhere in 2018. But one thing is for certain, he won’t be jobless.