The Lions have fired special teams coordinator Brayden Coombs, per a team announcement. Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com writes that special teams assistant Marquice Williams will take over the coordinator position for the final two games of the season.
Coombs, 34, began his coaching career as an intern with the Bengals in 2009. He served as Cincinnati’s assistant special teams coach from 2012-19, and his units were generally quite successful. The 2019 Bengals special teams unit was ranked first by Football Outsiders and fifth by Pro Football Focus, which prompted Detroit to hire Coombs as its ST coordinator back in January.
But a source told Rothstein that Coombs did not mesh with the culture that the organization is trying to create. In the Lions’ loss to the Titans yesterday, Coombs called for an unsuccessful fake punt without the knowledge of anyone else, including coaches and some players on the field. While Coombs’ abilities as a coordinator are clearly strong, the team apparently felt that his unilateral decision was emblematic of his overall approach. As Rothstein says, the team had been considering making a move for some time, and the fake punt was simply the last straw.
In related news, the Lions recently hired Chris Spielman to serve as a special assistant to chairman and president & CEO. Spielman, a franchise icon who played linebacker for the Lions from 1988-95, will be a key voice in the general manager and head coach hires that Detroit will soon be making, and he spoke at length about the vision that principal owner Sheila Ford Hamp has in terms of the club’s direction and culture.
As Justin Rogers of the Detroit News observes, Spielman — the brother of Vikings GM Rick Spielman — and team president Rod Wood used the word “culture” 22 times in 36 minutes at Spielman’s introductory press conference last week. Organizational sources tell Rogers that Coombs’ departure is a reflection of his “me-first” attitude that undermines that culture (Twitter links).
The Lions’ GM search is well underway, with the club having interviewed or planning to interview several internal options and a host of high-profile candidates like Louis Riddick, Thomas Dimitroff, and Scott Pioli. The team’s head coaching interviews will obviously start in earnest at season’s end, and 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is rumored to be Detroit’s top choice.
Hell, the whole dang coaching staff has been underwhelming
“ Mesh with the culture?” What losing every year? Having early picks and failing every year? They have no coach, no GM , no culture except they SUCK consistently. Fire the guy but don’t talk about “ Culture” they are and have been rudderless forever.
I think it’s ridiculous to talk about team culture when you haven’t the courage to play home games outdoors as the sport was intended.
Yes, oh flippant one. That’s exactly what they mean.
They’re referring to the franchise’s culture of always doing things together as a team/family win or lose. It’s a “we” culture, not “me”. He did things on his own accord without consulting anyone else. That’s why he was let go.
Cute, lemon, but keep your day job.
@thebluemeanie
Lol I guess you commented before I had a chance to notice. Glad we’re on the same page
I think that’s their point. Clearly the organization lacks continuity and chemistry, so they’re trying to remove any toxic members. We saw a similar move with the firing of Patricia earlier. They’re removing the egotistical and self-centered components of the franchise to begin anew gain a sense of, well, culture. Now, they probably didn’t need to use the word 22 times in a press conference, but that’s a different story…
Can’t wait to hear Spielman’s “expert takes” regarding the team’s players (current and prospective) – “yeah, uh, duh he understand uh, duh, where da runner sposda go, uh duh, so he uh, duh, tackle him gud, duh”
“He uh, recognize, uh, his assignment, uh, and he uh, duh, uh, do’s it, uh duh, wow, uh”
How many teams have contacted you for a front office position, Alex?
“Yeah, uh duh none uh.”
Looks like Gregg Williams and Brayden Coombs would make a great coaching tandem for some team.
How about firing the head coach
Ummm… ok,
Yeah really! They should get on that.
Firing the interim already? Seems a bit premature…