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Mike Rothstein at ESPN wrote a solid piece Thursday on former players bringing their experience and knowledge to the Detroit Lions as young coaches. The former players on the current Detroit staff mentioned are:
Former defensive back Steve Gregory, who recovered the infamous butt-fumble, joined the organization as a defensive assistant in March 2018
Former pro center Hank Fraley, recently an offensive line coach at UCLA, became an offensive line assistant coach for the Lions in February 2018
The Lions have essentially extended the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship to a yearlong position rather than just a spot during training camp. That's an important thing to do to give young coaches a foot in the door.
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) March 9, 2018
Former guard Billy Yates, a participant in the William Clay Ford Minority Coaching Assistantship program since March 2018
Former running back Leon Washington, who was brought on as the 2019 participant in the WCF program this past March
"It's one thing to understand the X's and O's of the game. It's another thing to understand the X's and O's, and actually have been an X or O."
— Detroit Lions PR (@LionsPR) July 19, 2019
A good look at some former NFL players making an impact on the @Lions coaching staff.https://t.co/uduQFIMka8
If you’ve wondered what it takes to make it in the demanding world of professional football coaching, this is a fantastic window into the tremendous work put in by Detroit’s coaches.
And now, on with the rest of today’s Notes:
- Remember how ripped Zach Zenner got? Here’s the latest specimen (h/t to @sweta2311) from Michigan Elite Conditioning for Athletes, Christian Jones:
At Taste of the Lions I tapped Jones on the shoulder and nearly broke my hand. https://t.co/G61595qwEX
— Erik Schlitt (@erikschlitt) July 19, 2019
- Chris Burke over at The Athletic put together his own rankings for the 20 most important players on the Lions roster (subscription required) for 2019.
- Quandre Diggs is already a hell of a safety, and he now seizes the mantle of being the newest dad on the team:
Ariya Marie Diggs
— Nino (@qdiggs6) July 19, 2019
7/18/19
7 Lbs 4 Oz https://t.co/OmRXMaNHrj
- Pro Football Focus noted yet again how good Darius Slay is, this time with PBUs. Phenomenal reflexes no doubt honed by practice against a quarterback who throws with so much velocity that it can break a finger:
Double digit pass breakups for Darius Slay since 2015! pic.twitter.com/fgoYvXLAmg
— PFF (@PFF) July 18, 2019