No roster spots are guaranteed
Just as a new management regime will want to make its own coaching moves, so too will they want to reshape the roster in their own image. That could mean radical changes to the Lions as we know them.
Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network strongly intimated Matthew Stafford could be moved.
The future beyond 2015 for #Lions QB Matthew Stafford is very much in doubt, as I understand it.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 5, 2015
Calvin Johnson could also be moved, even with the ridiculous $13 million dead cap money figure. It would be a tough sell to the fans, but it would greatly assist in the long-term slate cleansing.
Never trust anyone over 30, the old hippie axiom goes. That would be true with a new regime. Guys like Stephen Tulloch, Rashean Mathis, Brandon Pettigrew, Jason Jones, Dan Orlovsky and his expiring contract, they all figure to be gone.
Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Perhaps the new staff will make the switch to a 3-4 defensive scheme. Or morph the offense away from the ball control West Coast system and get back to more of the Air Coryell system. Just maybe the team could embrace the radical and implement something like the Baylor spread. Now that would require some significant personnel changes!
Next: Meet the new boss?