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With new Lions head coach Dan Campbell firmly entrenched in the halls of Allen Park (we presume there are halls there), Detroit is now busy with the work of assembling a crew of coordinators and positional coaches. While there have been early reports that the Lions are targeting Aaron Glenn to become their defensive coordinator, no other positions have been filled.
That may change soon. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network broke news today that the Lions have interest in current Baltimore Ravens quarterback coach James Urban, and he interviewed with the team on Wednesday.
The #Lions interviewed #Ravens QB coach James Urban for their offensive coordinator job today, source said.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 20, 2021
Urban is the first coach to appear in the Lions’ search for an offensive coordinator.
In addition to coaching quarterbacks with the Ravens, Urban previously worked as a wide receivers coach with the Cincinnati Bengals under former head coach Marvin Lewis from 2011 to 2017, where he worked with athletes such as AJ Green and current Lions Marvin Jones Jr. and Mohamed Sanu.
He also previously worked with the Philadelphia Eagles, where he spent three seasons as an assistant to head coach Andy Reid, two as an offensive assistant & quality control coach, and then another two seasons as the quarterbacks coach.
His time with the Eagles and Ravens should be of interest to Lions fans, as he helped to acclimate Michael Vick to Andy Reid’s offensive designs in Philadelphia and now currently works with Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson—both run-heavy, mobile quarterbacks. With current quarterback Matthew Stafford’s future in question, it bears to reason that the Lions may be looking to draft a young quarterback in one of the upcoming drafts, and if James Urban is hired by the team it would speak to a potential philosophy in how this team addresses the position.