One thing is for certain, before long the Detroit Lions coaching staff is going to look very different than it did just a few weeks ago.
As we know, former head coach Jim Caldwell has been fired and Teryl Austin has taken a job as defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals. In addition, multiple other Lions coaches have been notified they will not be returning for the 2018 season including defensive line coach Kris Kocurek, quarterbacks coach Brian Callahan, safeties coach Alan Williams, and linebackers coach Bill Sheridan.
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So, when the Lions started deleting coaches from their website, it was no surprise that the coaches mentioned above were no longer there.
But what was a surprise was that cornerbacks coach Tony Oden, who is highly regarded around the league, was also missing from the Lions list of current coaches which is included on the team website.
According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Oden has also been relieved of his coaching duties with the Lions despite helping get cornerback Darius Slay to the Pro Bowl for the first time.
So yes Tony Oden won’t return to the Lions next season. He and Bob Quinn met the other day in Mobile.
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) January 25, 2018
The only two defensive coaches remaining, according to the website, are defensive quality control coach Steven Williams and defensive assistant – special Projects coach George Godsey.
As far as the offensive side of the ball goes, things still seem to be intact for the most part including Jim Bob Cooter still showing as the Lions offensive coordinator. One offensive coach who will need to be replaced is Ron Prince, who coached the Lions offensive line for the past three seasons.
As soon as the Super Bowl concludes and things settle, the Lions are expected to name New England Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia as their next head coach. As soon as that happens, the Lions coaching staff picture will become much clearer.
