Monday open thread: Is the Lions’ current coaching staff better than 2017?

Now that the Detroit Lions have hired defensive line coach Bo Davis, their 2018 coaching staff is nearing completion. They now have a coach at every position, and their staff looks drastically different than it did last season.

Though head coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn have decided to keep most of the offensive staff intact and are reportedly returning their two special teams coaches, the rest of the staff has been completely overhauled.

But change isn’t always for the better. Sometimes an attempt to improve fails. So today’s Question of the Day is:

Is the Lions’ coaching staff better than it was in 2017?

Let’s take a look at the names.

Here’s a look at the staff from 2017:

Head coach: Jim Caldwell

Offensive Coordinator: Jim Bob Cooter

• QB coach: Brian Callahan
• RB coach: David Walker
• WR coach: Robert Prince
• TE coach: Al Golden
• OL coach: Ron Prince
• Offensive assistant: Evan Rothstein
• Quality control: Michael McCarthy

Defensive coordinator: Teryl Austin

• DL coach: Kris Kocurek
• LB coach: Bill Sheridan
• CB coach: Tony Oden
• S coach: Alan Williams
• Defensive assistant: George Godsey
• Defensive assistant: Matt Raich
• Quality control: Steven Williams

Now here’s a look at 2018’s staff as of Monday morning:

Head coach: Matt Patricia

Offensive Coordinator: Jim Bob Cooter

• QB coach: George Godsey
• RB coach: David Walker
• WR coach: Robert Prince
• TE coach: Chris White
• OL coach: Jeff Davidson
• Offensive assistant: Evan Rothstein
• Quality control: Michael McCarthy

Defensive coordinator: Paul Pasqualoni

• DL coach: Bo Davis
• LB coach: Al Golden
• DB coach: Brian Stewart
• Quality control: Steven Williams

My answer: I like 2018’s coaching staff better, but it’s a lot closer than I thought it would be. I think the two changes made on offense—new offensive line coach and moving Al Golden to defense—were huge plusses. And, of course, I am definitely more optimistic about having Patricia leading the team than Jim Caldwell.

But you could make an easy argument that the defensive staff is actually a little worse than it was last year. Gone are the well-regarded Kris Kocurek and Tony Oden. They’re replaced by Bo Davis, who I like a lot but has minimal NFL experience, and Brian Stewart, who has plenty of experience both in college and the NFL, but doesn’t have the reputation that Oden has.

Still, Detroit improved in the two places it needed to the most: head coach and offensive line coach. That alone is enough for me to confidently say that the 2018 coaching staff looks better on paper.

Your turn.