Some Detroit Lions‘ fans wanted Adam Gase, others were giddy over the thought of Kliff Kingsbury, and some hoped for Freddie Kitchens to be named as the team’s next offensive coordinator.
Unfortunately, all of those potential candidates took head coaching jobs, which left the Lions with a limited list of candidates.
According to reports, the next offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions will be Darrell Bevell.
#Lions hire Darrell Bevell as offensive coordinator: https://t.co/fWbKIDU5sW pic.twitter.com/6JwpTolMB7
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) January 16, 2019
From Detroit Lions:
Bevell comes to Detroit after most recently spending seven seasons (2011-17) with the Seattle Seahawks as the club’s offensive coordinator. During his time in Seattle, he helped the Seahawks appear in the playoffs in five of his seven seasons leading the offense. In addition, Seattle reached two consecutive Super Bowls (XLVIII, XLIX) during Bevell’s stint, including a victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII following the 2013 regular season. He was named Seattle’s offensive coordinator after spending five seasons (2006-10) in the same role with the Minnesota Vikings.
Prior to his time in Minnesota, Bevell worked with the Green Bay Packers for six years (2000-05), serving the last three as quarterbacks coach. He began his coaching career in 1996 as the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Westmar University, before becoming a graduate assistant at Iowa State in 1997.
A former quarterback at the University of Wisconsin, Bevell was a four-year starter for the Badgers. He left as the school’s all-time leading passer with 19 team records.
Bevell is a native of Yuma, Ariz. He and his wife, Tammy, have three daughters, Kylie, Morgan and Hailey.
#OnePride LIVE: @sportstori and @MikeOHaraNFL discuss the hire of #Lions new offensive coordinator, Darrell Bevell. https://t.co/6fc0yEv2Qj
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) January 16, 2019
BONUS CONTENT:
Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn recently spoke to media members and stated his belief that the team is tougher to play against since he took the reigns in January of 2016.
During his first two years as GM, the Lions finished 9-7 both times with average offensive and defensive numbers. Though the defense remained average during head coach Matt Patricia’s first year, the offense took a dip in efficiency, ranking 25th overall in scoring.
But Quinn is choosing to look more at the intangibles rather than the hard numbers.
“I think we’re a more physical team,” Quinn said. “I think we have a much better and sound, fundamentally, defense, especially run defense. I think we play a physical brand of football, which before, I didn’t think that was the case my first year or two. I think this year, we drastically improved that. …I think the same thing can be said for the offensive line and the running game. I know that part’s better.”
This past season, the team offense ran the ball over 400 times, the first time with that many since 2013. They also averaged their most yards per carry since 2012.
“I think that’s something that we want to build this team around, because I think that lasts over the long haul,” Quinn said.
Following the acquisition of Damon “Snacks” Harrison, the Lions were able to limit opponents to 3.6 yards per carry after struggling to stop the run earlier in the year.
