This has been expected for awhile now, but Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that the Lions are expected to retain offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter. Detroit, of course, will hire current Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia as its new head coach shortly after today’s Super Bowl.
The Lions also interviewed Cooter for the HC job, though Patricia was long regarded as the favorite for the position. Cooter, just 33, is viewed as a rising star in the coaching ranks, and while the Lions’ offense has not set the world ablaze in his two full seasons as OC — the unit ranked 15th in DVOA in 2016 and 17th in 2017 — he does have the support of his quarterback. The day former Lions head coach Jim Caldwell was fired, Matthew Stafford lobbied for Cooter to be retained.
Plus, it can’t hurt for the team to have a little continuity. With Patricia taking over the team and defense, the offense will continue to operate under a familiar face and a familiar scheme.
As Schefter notes, Patricia and Cooter do not know each other personally, but they share a fan in Detroit GM Bob Quinn, who worked with Patricia in New England.
Patricia and Cooter are the perfect combo of skills for Detroit