The Detroit Lions have added yet another coach to the offensive side of the ball. On Friday the team announced that Derius Swinton will be on the staff as an offensive assistant. Swinton is Detroit’s fourth new coach on offense, along with offensive line coach Jeff Davidson, offensive line assistant Hank Fraley, and offensive assistant/quality control coach Brian Picucci.
Interestingly, Swinton actually has connections to offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, not head coach Matt Patricia. Swinton and Cooter have worked alongside each other three times in their career. First, the two were graduate assistants at Tennessee from 2007 to 2008. Next, Swinton was the special teams quality control coach for the Kansas City Chiefs when Cooter was the quality control coordinator. The next year, both moved to the Broncos—Swinton as assistant special teams coach, Cooter as an offensive assistant.
Swinton, a former college safety, has been in special teams for the majority of his coaching career, making stops with the Broncos, Bears (twice) and 49ers along the way. He actually helped coach Matt Prater during the standout kicker’s first Pro Bowl year in 2013.
While his role on the offense will be a bit out of the ordinary for Swinton, Cooter worked directly with him as a quality control coordinator. That working relationship must have been enough for Cooter to convince the Lions to add him to the offensive staff.