Lions coordinators may move on, but would that be a bad thing?
By Jack Ozark
Since the Detroit Lions locked in a playoff berth, they will continue on with head coach Jim Caldwell. Since becoming the coach three seasons ago, he has helped lead this team to the playoffs twice. And on Saturday, will be shooting for the win Lions’ faithful have been praying for. However, just because he’s safe doesn’t mean that his coordinators will still be in Detroit next season. After strong seasons, Teryl Austin and Jim Bob Cooter could be in charge for another needy team. But I don’t believe losing them would really cost the Lions much.
Jim Bob Cooter
JBC is just finishing up his first full season as the offensive coordinator. Last year when the Lions offense looked lost and Stafford was pulling in more doubt than ever before, JBC came in to help save the season. Not since Stafford was running with Scott Linehan has he looked so good. Except this time he was already a better player coming into this relationship, which has shown over the course of this season.
Still, Cooter has struggled in a few situations this year. He doesn’t adapt a game plan well unless it’s not working at all in the first half. And because of this, along with having just over one season of experience, I don’t think JBC leaving is a real threat. (Also there has been some buzz about his name holding him back, which is kind of sad. Blame his parents for that one, don’t take it out on him.)
I really don’t know that JBC leaving would be the worst though. When I think about what he does for the offense I’m at a 50/50 split. At times I’m convinced Stafford has learned enough and is actually being held back now. But maybe the Stafford–Cooter connection is only going to get better and better. It’s a real crossroads, but whatever happens, I only hope for the best outcome.
Teryl Austin
The #Rams and #Chargers have requested permission to interview #Lions DC Teryl Austin, source said. Will happen at the end of this week.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 3, 2017
Unlike JBC, I don’t expect Austin to be back next season. Even before this season, there were talks about another team picking him up this offseason. This year, Austin managed to make the defense pretty successful. They went to the church of bending not breaking and during their hot streak, it worked wonders. Austin has made due with less talent over the past two seasons after being blessed with stars in his first year.
But as good as Austin has been, he still has his faults. These problems didn’t show up in the beginning, this might be because of the talent, or because he didn’t want to be too innovative to start. This season though there have been countless situations where he has defensive tackles running back into coverage to try and outsmart a quarterback. If there’s one this I don’t want to see, it’s a 300lb pass rusher not rushing during a key play. Besides that, it just seems that Detroit calls the wrong plays late in the game. This must be the play call if it keeps happening without somebody being benched. And at the end of the game, especially a one score Lions game, the defense needs to be top-notch.
Austin has shown that he has the ability to make a solid defense with only a few solid players and backups. Teams are going to look past those bad play calls, as his positives over the past few years have outweighed the blemishes. Even if he does leave, the Lions shouldn’t be too worried. I think Austin has maxed out with Detroit. So a change defensively, maybe even schematically, could help boost this defense back into top form next year.