Replacing Ben Johnson when he left to become the Chicago Bears' head coach was not going to be easy. But early questions about how aligned new offensive coordinator John Morton would be with head coach Dan Campbell proved to be legitimate, when Campbell took over play calling in the middle of the season.
Campbell is now looking for a new offensive coordinator again, and the list of candidates has extended beyond the proverbial comfort of people Campbell has any ties to. Fresh ideas to get things back on track next season will be practically mandatory.
As interviews for coaching jobs around the league are going on, the Lions have the advantage of being able to be more aggressive in their search for an offensive coordinator and the list of external candidates who have been or will be interviewed has formed in-kind based on multiple reports.
Coordinator candidate matched with Lions is already on their radar
Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report has attempted to match candidates to top coordinator jobs around the league, with a Plan B candidate for each.
For the Lions offensive coordinator opening, Gagnon has Tee Martin as the best fit.
"To get over the top, the Lions need more from their quarterback. With Martin as the quarterbacks coach in Baltimore, Lamar Jackson experienced three of the top four passing seasons of his career."
"Martin has extensive experience at both the college and pro level and appears ready to take the next step at age 47. He's also a perfect fit personality-wise as a motivational presence who has ground his way to this spot."
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Martin spent the last three seasons as the Baltimore Ravens' quarterbacks coach, and he was the wide receivers coach there for two seasons before that.
Prior to that, Martin worked at the college level for most of his time going back to when he got into coaching in 2006. The most notable portion of that part of his resume, especially as it may pertain to the Lions, is his years at USC.
Martin's last year on the staff at USC, as offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach, was 2018. The Trojans had a freshman wide receiver by the name of Amon-Ra St. Brown that year, and he had 60 catches for 750 yards and three touchdowns.
For whatever it might be worth now, Martin had some nice praise for St. Brown during that season.
"He has everything,”Martin said of St. Brown. "It’s really rare that a guy can do what he’s been able to do as a true freshman.”
Martin also briefly played quarterback in the NFL before finishing his playing career with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL. If you're a football fan of a certain age you may remember him as Peyton Manning's successor under center at the University of Tennessee, and he led the Volunteers to a national title in 1998.
As it turns out, and perhaps spurring Gagnon to make the match, Martin is already a known candidate for the Lions' offensive coordinator job. NFL insider Jordan Schultz was first to report an interview would take place on Jan. 9, and ESPN's Jeremy Fowler subsequently reported the interview was scheduled to take place this past Monday.