Lions notes: Jim Caldwell to join Miami Dolphins coaching staff

As other teams around the NFL start to round out their coaching staff, one former Detroit Lions coach has found himself a new home. Jim Caldwell, once considered a hot name for a potential 2019 head coaching job, is expected to join the Miami Dolphins coaching staff, according to MMQB’s Albert Breer.

The Dolphins are expected to hire Patriots linebacker coach Brian Flores as their next head coach and per Breer, Caldwell will have an part in the offensive staff—though he may not be considered as the team’s offensive coordinator.

“I expect him to be a part of the staff, but maybe not as OC,” Breer wrote in his Monday column. “Even if Flores had landed Roman or Kingsbury, my understanding is that Caldwell likely still would have been in the mix in an associate head coach-type role.”

This will be Caldwell’s first NFL job since the Lions fired him as head coach following a 36-28 record over four years in Detroit.

• The Detroit Lions reportedly showed some interest in former Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken. Monken has since taken a job with the Browns, despite not getting play-calling duties in Cleveland. His reason for picking the Browns is a bit troubling if the Lions were serious contenders:

• Scott Warheit of Lions Wire has a phenomenal breakdown of the Lions’ cap situation in 2019—one he estimates will be around $40 million in free agency spending after cap casualties and re-signings—and what positions they’ll need to spend that money on.

• Darius Slay’s down year was still pretty dang good:

• Last week, we pointed out that Pro Football Focus ranked the Lions’ defensive front 31st out of 32 NFL teams. Unfortunately, it doesn’t get much better with their secondary. PFF ranked the Lions’ defensive backs 30th in the NFL in 2018, noting that former second-round pick Teez Tabor gave up a perfect 158.3 passer rating all season.

• In other NFC North coaching news, the Vikings—who already have hired a new offensive coordinator—are reportedly in the mix for adding another offensive mind to their staff:

• FiveThirtyEight has a very interesting article on the statistical output of running on first down and specifically the series run-run-pass on first-through-third downs.