The Lions have hired former Texans offensive coordinator George Godsey as a defensive assistant/special projects, the club announced today.
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The Detroit title means Godsey will be coaching/analyzing from a different side of the ball given that he’s spent the entirety of his career on offense, but he won’t be the first coach to switch his specific focus. Longtime NFL offensive coach Juan Castillo, for one, spent two years as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator (with admittedly poor results), while current Falcons wide receivers coach Raheem Morris came up through the defensive ranks.
While the Lions didn’t announce Godsey’s exact duties, he’ll likely have a role similar to that of Randy Edsall, the current UConn head coach who spent the 2016 campaign as Detroit’s director of football research/special projects. Edsall assisted in gameday preparation (scouting future opponents, searching for tendencies), and also aided in draft and free agency work. Given that Godsey is an offensive mind, he’ll presumably help the Lions’ defensive staff see the game from a different point of view.
Godsey, 38, first entered the NFL with the Patriots in 2011, and had spent the past three seasons with the Texans, serving as offensive coordinator from 2015-16. After being let go by Houston earlier this year, Godsey was a candidate for the Jets’ OC vacancy, and was also linked to the University of Alabama.
In hiring a defensive assistant, the best this terrible organization can do is hire a college offensive coordinator?