Notes: Dan Orlovsky turned down Lions coaching job in 2017

As the Detroit Lions begin their search for an offensive coordinator—and possibly an entirely new offensive coaching staff—news leaked this week that former Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky had a chance to be a part of the staff in 2017, but turned it down.

According to Chris Burke of The Athletic, Jim Caldwell offered Orlovsky a job midway through the 2017 season after the veteran quarterback decided to retire.

“I think you’re going to be remarkable coach in the future, if that’s what you’d like to do,” Caldwell said per Burke.

Orlovsky declined, saying he wasn’t ready to make that transition and needed to take a break. Since then, Orlovsky has become a Twitter favorite and has earned a job with ESPN as an analyst both at the pro and college level.

However, Orlovsky wouldn’t be opposed to join the coaching ranks this year.

“If I get a call from somewhere (where I have) ties, know those people and can see what the future will be, then maybe,” Orlovsky said.

As of Thursday morning, the team had not reached out to him about their offensive coordinator position, but stay tuned.

• The Detroit Lions added two more players to the roster via reserve-future contracts: punter Ryan Santoso and running back Kerwynn Williams:

• Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press made five “fearless” predictions for 2019. One of his bolder predictions is the Lions deciding to trade Marvin Jones Jr.

• If this was a down year for Darius Slay, it was a pretty solid down year:

• Erik Schlitt of Lions Wire stacks the Lions’ roster into different levels, including “impact players” and “core players.” It’s a pretty unique and interesting way to look at the roster.

• The Lions are trying to make a push for Damon Harrison Sr. to make the All Pro team. Harrison still has never been named to the Pro Bowl, but he has a pretty darn good case this year:

• This is a pretty cool moment for a Lions fan. Michael Banks, one of the biggest Lions fans, was nominated to the NFL Hall of Fans, and the league surprised him by having Barry Sanders come to his house and announce his nomination: