Detroit Lions: What to know about every head coach candidate interviewed

It appears the Detroit Lions have narrowed down their head coaching search down to six, we went over the good and bad for each candidate.

The Detroit Lions have announced six interviews for their opening at head coach. That in an effort to replace Matt Patricia, who was let go along with general manager Bob Quinn back in November.

Here is a breakdown of five of the candidates up for the job as Tennessee Titans Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith has declined an interview with the Lions.

Robert Saleh

Position: San Francisco 49ers Defensive Coordinator
Scheme: Base 4-3

What to Like

Saleh is known to be a player’s coach whose energy gets his defense to rally around him. That’s his selling point, he gets the best out of his players. Lions fans will appreciate that the 49ers’ defense was still a productive unit despite injuries this year.

Despite losing defensive players Nick Bosa, Richard Sherman, Dee Ford, and Kwon Alexander, including the repercussions of a lackluster offense, their defense was outstanding.

Also, passing game coordinator Mike LaFleur is rumored to come along with Saleh as his offensive coordinator. That’s a good thing. Mike LaFleur is brothers with Green Bay Packers head coach Matt Lafleur. If they are anything alike, that’s a huge win for Detroit.

Lastly, for all of my tight end T.J. Hockenson fans out there, LaFleur would surely use him as he would use tight end George Kittle. It might make former general manager Bob Quinn look good in the process.

What not to like

On the surface, it’s a flawless hire. Although, how many of us feel about hiring Saleh would be the same as how we felt for former head coach Matt Patricia. Of course, it has nothing to do with each other, but nothing is guaranteed.

The risk when hiring any up and coming coordinator is that we don’t know how his success will translate to a head coaching gig. However, based on what we’ve seen, Saleh would be a great hire.