Saturday open thread: Aside from hiring Matt Patricia, what was the Lions’ best coaching move?

Matt Patricia was obviously the biggest move the Detroit Lions made this offseason thus far, but it’s far from their only hire. The entire defense staff has been overhauled and they made some key changes on the offensive side of the ball.

They’ve added a new, experienced mentor as their new offensive line coach. They move Al Golden back to the defensive side of the ball. They’ve retained Jim Bob Cooter, but given him new quarterback and tight end coaches. Defensively, they have a brand new coordinator. They’ve replaced the well-respected Kris Kocurek and Tony Oden with a couple of talented minds.

So today’s Question of the Day is:

What has been the best coaching move the Lions have made this offseason—aside from hiring Matt Patricia?

My answer: I really love the hire of defensive line coach Bo Davis. Davis has some enormous shoes to fill, as former Lions d-line coach Kris Kocurek was one of the most respected minds on the team for the past nine years.

But Davis comes with a long line of success. He has been Nick Saban’s go-to guy wherever he coaches, which is obviously a very good sign. He was widely considered one of the best defensive line coaches in the nation while at Alabama. His resume is filled with success stories like A’Shawn Robinson, Jarran Reed, Terrence Cody and most recently Marcus Davenport.

The biggest strike against Davis was his unceremonious exit from Alabama. Davis was essentially forced to resign after committing a recruiting violation, then failing to report it during a couple meetings with the NCAA. It was a poor, regrettable decision—which he openly admits today—but it also has no bearing on how he’ll do in the NFL.

Reuniting him with Robinson, along with allowing him to help coach up some of the younger guys at Detroit’s disposal, gives the Lions a real chance at improving one of their weaker units from 2017.

Your turn.