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A change in coaching regime isn’t just exciting for fans of an NFL team, tt can be exciting for some of the players, as well. Though teams experience a certain amount of disappointment for not playing well enough to keep the former coaches in place, and there’s an inherent degree of anxiety about each individual’s future, there is also the potential of hope.
For many, a new coach brings a new opportunity to provide a first impression. For some, it’s a chance to finally be utilized properly. For others, it could be a chance to have the best coach you’ve ever had in your career.
It’s hard to know whether that will be true of Matt Patricia and the rest of the new Detroit Lions coaches, but there will undoubtedly be some players that benefit from the change.
Today’s Question of the Day is:
Which Lions player do you think will benefit the most from the coaching change?
My answer: Ameer Abdullah. There are a lot of good candidates here, and my second choice would probably be Jarrad Davis (Matt Patricia being a former LB coach and Davis’ still-young career), but I had to go with Abdullah here.
If there is any chance that Abdullah catches on in Detroit, a coaching change was absolutely necessary, and not only did the Lions push Jim Caldwell—who seemingly never built an efficient running game in his career—out of town, but they got a brand new offensive line coach with (presumably) a brand new run blocking scheme.
It seems very likely that Abdullah will have some new competition in the backfield in 2018, and many expect him to enter the season as a backup, but with a full change in coaching staff, he’ll have one more chance to make a first impression on Patricia and company. Abdullah is out of excuses now. If he’s got the talent to break out, the Lions’ coaching change should be the last barrier that was between him and success. Now it’s up to him to seize the opportunity.
Your turn.