Detroit Lions: Projecting offseason timeline
By Mike Payton
The end of the Detroit Lions season is just about over. In fact it ends tomorrow around 4:00 when the Lions will be wrapping up Their final game of the season against the Bears.
Following Sunday’s festivities, football fans will be hit in the face with a wave of news like they’re Bodhi from Point Break when he surfs off into the abyss at Bells Beach during the 50 year storm. Not to get off topic here, but I strongly urge everyone to boycott the remaking of this timeless film.
Anyway’s, the Lions find themselves right smack dab in the middle of this wave as they are expected to officially begin their search for a new General Manager and quite possibly a new coaching staff. As news rolls in quickly about other teams moves like it already has in Cleveland, New York and Miami, things can get a little confusing a rapid rate. So tonight I decided to put together a little schedule guide for Lions fans. This schedule will lay out how I think the Lions offseason will go and include some dates to remember over the course of the offseason.
January 4th
This coming Monday has been dubbed Black Monday in the NFL for quite some time. This is the Monday after regular season concludes. And when teams begin dismissing coaches and front office personnel. I believed for while that this would be the day that Jim Caldwell would receive his walking papers and leave town. Now it appears that won’t be the case as the Lions will opt to find their new GM first and let that individual make this decision.
So where does this leave the Lions? If they choose to interview a GM candidate from a playoff team, they must first get that team’s permission. This could take some time. The Lions may very well find themselves in a bind if at the time they hire their GM, all the decent head coaching options may be off the board. I’m guessing the Lions have a few candidates already in mind and even if they get permission, they cannot make an offer until that team has been eliminated from the playoffs. This probably puts the Lions hiring of a GM out until say the third week of the month.
For thee reasons and more, I believe the Lions will likely stick with Jim Caldwell and company.
There are other ways though. If the Lions already have somebody in mind that can start as soon as possible, all bets are off. I would assume that new GM would assess the open pool of head coaches that are terminated on the fourth and the pool of coaches from the college ranks and make a decision on Caldwell based off that.
Sidenote: The fourth is also the earliest day that the Lions can negotiate with 2013 draft picks about extensions and fifth year options. Pay close attention to Slay, Ansah and Warford on this day.
January 10th
If the new GM has a head coach in mind that’s a part of a playoff team like fan favorite Hue Jackson, the Lions will be able to conduct an opening interview with such candidate on this day. This day is reserved to interview candidates whose current team is on a bye from the wild card week. If they chose one of these coaches as their guy, they cannot hire them until their current team has been eliminated. But they can ask to see them again and go on a second date on this day:
January 17th
This day is right after the divisional playoffs. If the Lion want to move things fast and get down on one knee and ask Hue Jackson to be their coach, they can do that on this day provided they have a GM and the Bengals were eliminated.
January 31st
If the Lions are head over heels for a coordinator that’s on a team that’s heading to the Super Bowl, they will get their chance to conduct an interview or even second interview with that gentleman beginning on this date and ending on February 6th. The day before the Super Bowl. They of course cannot give a formal offer until February 8th at the earliest.
So there you have it on that end Lions fans. I’m sure you still have more questions than answers at this point. I know I do. There is a chance that the Lions may not have a new head coach or even a new GM until February if they chase the big fish and don’t settle. From there it’s all fun dates. Let’s jump into those.
January 23rd and January 30th
These are the dates of the Shrine Bowl (23rd) and the Senior Bowl (30th). The Lions generally have their scouts down there for these games and have even coached there in the past. This is where the Lions fell in love with Ezekiel Ansah. So it would be wise to keep an eye on this game for future Lions.
February 22nd
On this day the Lions can begin discussing the use of the franchise tag that they ultimately won’t use by March 7th.
February 23-29
The NFL scouting combine begins on the 23rd in Indianapolis. This is always a fun event to keep an eye on as new prospects generally seem to pop up here every year.
March 12th
The Lions can begin conversing with the agents of unrestricted free agents on this date. Negotiations can be had and numbers can be thrown around. But a team is not permitted to sign a player to a contract until 4PM on the 15th. But if we learned anything from the Miami Dolphins last March, teams will cheat the system. Teams are also permitted to make trades on the 15th as well.
By the way here are some free agents we think the Lions should look at.
April 4th
If the Lions do indeed hire a new coach, they will be able to begin their offseason workouts on this day. These are just workouts, not going over anything playbook related. If the Lions do decide to retain Caldwell, the team will begin heir workout program on the 18th.
April 28th-30th
The NFL Draft will go down on these dates. Outside of free agency, this is the most fun a football fan can have over the summer. This writer is stoked that the draft won’t take place on his wedding anniversary like it did last year.
From there it’s OTA’s, training camp and the pre-season. I hope this was informative Detroit Lions fans. Be sure to stick with us through the offseason as we will be bringing you breaking news and top-tier draft content all winter, spring and summer long.