On Wednesday, the coaches of the Detroit Lions underwent a few adjustments. Terrell Williams and Deshea Townsend were officially hired initially. In recent weeks, both were employed.
In order to bolster their defensive assistant roster, the Lions also brought on Jim O’Neil, a former Northwestern defensive coordinator. O’Neil has coached in the NFL at various defensive positions in addition to his work at Northwestern University. The Browns, 49ers, Raiders, Bills, and Jets are among the teams he has played with.
On Wednesday, the Lions removed a few coaches from their coaching staff in addition to making several hires. Following a particularly difficult season for the Lions secondary, the team parted ways with cornerbacks coach and former Lion Dre Bly. Townsend will assume his position.
John Scott, the defensive line coach, was let go by the Lions. Williams will assume his position. The Dolphins hired Brian Duker, a defensive backs coach, as their new secondary coach.
Both defensive quality control coach Wayne Blair and senior assistant Jim Hostler are departing due to expiring contracts. The squad will also be losing John Fox, a senior defensive assistant.
The only truly unexpected person here is Fox. With his wealth of NFL head coaching and defensive coordinator experience, he seemed like a valuable addition to the sidelines. That he’s not returning is strange. However, this is not the first time that this has occurred. Dom Capers was once employed by the Lions as well, but he quit after a brief tenure.
