Another game lost and another week of offensive ineptitude reared its ugly head for the Detroit Lions and offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter.
The Detroit Lions and offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter’s offense got very creative to find the end zone when quarterback Matthew Stafford tossed a pass to left tackle Taylor Decker. Once again, Cooter decided to get creative with the offense after the season was already a lost cause.
Rewind to December 2017 when the Lions ran a play that ended with Stafford catching a 2-point conversion pass from wide receiver Golden Tate against the Green Bay Packers. It was the last week of a lost campaign and missing the playoffs. The creativity was too little, too late. This year, Cooter appears to have repeated history.
The question is, will general manager Bob Quinn and new head coach Matt Patricia allow this to happen in 2019? Cooter needs to step up his game if he wants to keep his job. His Lions offense is hardly explosive right now. He’s on the hot seat in the Motor City and nobody would be surprised to see him packing his bags before the end of the season.
After all, it is that time of year. The Packers just fired head coach Mike McCarthy for essentially missing the playoffs. Cooter could soon be next. The move would make a great deal of sense, especially if Patricia really wants to bring in his own guy as he did with defensive coordinator after arriving in Detroit. Actually, the defense is excelling right now while the offense is losing them games.
The argument can be made that the Lions lost offensive playmakers left and right including two starting wide receivers and their starting running back. But depth should be present to account for injuries (and trades).
Every team has to deal with adversity and injuries. Some teams are better at compensating than others and coach to their players’ strengths. The Lions are going to need to do a better job of that on offense if they expect to win any more games this season.