On Wednesday afternoon, the Detroit Lions presented four coaches to the media for the first time since their hiring: offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn, assistant head coach / Duce Staley, defense coordinator Aaron Glenn and special teams coordinator Dave Fipp.
The four each asked about 10-15 minutes of questions, while explaining their goals, their analysis of the team and their plans for 2021 and beyond. There was a lot to take in, so here are my six biggest takeaways from the press.
Prepare for Jared Goff to be the starter of 2021, no matter what the Lions do in the draft
Lynn, like every Lions coach, may not talk much about Jared Goff because it will be considered a toddler, although Goff will be a Detroit Lion when the trade becomes official on March 17th. by asking Lynn about Goff and a potential upcoming battle with a rookie full-back, Detroit would go in that direction in the draft.
While Anthony Lynn conceded that if a rookie full-back were to win the training camp match he should have started in Week 1, he spent much more time talking about the benefits of a year or so.
“I’d like to see the newcomer sit and watch for a while,” Lynn said. ‘If he could watch half a season or Patrick Mahomes watch the first year, I believe you can learn so much from the right veteran full-back.
‘Because there are a lot of rookies coming into this league and they are not ready yet. The speed of the game is twice as fast as it was at university. They have no success and in today’s environment – with social media – things get tough and some of these guys lose their confidence and never get it back. So if I can put a rookie down, I’ll do it. ‘
Aaron Glenn likes the Lions’ defensive backs
As for Detroit’s secondary underperformance, Glenn sees only potential. A staff full of athletes, Glenn sees many parallels with when he took over coaching a young secondary in New Orleans. The secondary, by the way, finished and intercepted the top five in passenger admission in 2020, and was allowed the top 10 in meters per attempt.
‘I had a young secondary education with Marshon Lattimore, Vonn Bell, Marcus Williams. “All those young guys, you’ll make these guys grow up as little ones,” Glenn said. “I’m excited about it. Jeff Okudah, first-year player. Amani (Oruwariye), young player. Even the two safes we have, young players. I get the chance to shape those guys to exactly how I want the guys to play. I know AP (Aubrey Pleasant, defensive coach) is going to do a hell of a job in that situation. ”
Dan Campbell was indeed a major influence on coaching rentals
To give you an idea of how excited some of these coaches are to coach under Dan Campbell, Dave Fipp, special team coordinator, was the answer to a question about his excitement about being one of the best units for special teams from 2020 onwards.
“No doubt about it. These guys played at a very high level a year ago. They have a lot of very good players, but I would personally say: for me, the thing I’m most excited about here is “Come and get the chance to work for Dan Campbell. He’s an amazing guy. He’s put together an amazing staff.”
For Aaron Glenn, it was their shared past. They’re both from Texas A&M. They played on the Cowboys together and coached with the Saints. With all the years it overlapped, Glenn learned how good a person and strong leader Campbell was.
“If you’ve been with him all these years, you get the chance to get to know the man more than the football coach,” Glenn said. ‘I’m more attracted to the man than the football coach, to be honest with you. You just know that the type of person he is, he’s going to bring in the right guys. ‘
Last year’s defense was poorly coached
Glenn did not say it outright, but he referred a few weeks ago to Campbell’s remarks that the players apparently do not know their instructions or play with any confidence.
“Then it said. “The players looked confused, with no confidence,” said Glenn. ‘And the only thing we have to do is we have to change the narrative of the players’ thinking so that they can play with confidence and make them play fast. What we as staff are going to do is make sure that happens. This is our biggest task. ”
Anthony Lynn is more than willing to call plays
Lynn has only one year of offensive coordinator experience in his hand, but the 52-year-old coach has quickly shaken off concerns that his lack of player experience could affect his effectiveness in 2021. Although he has been the head coach for the Chargers since 2017, he is heavily involved in calling plays.
“For the past four years, I’ve had offensive coordinators, and I had those guys name plays, but I probably mentioned a third of the plays,” Lynn said. “I was always involved. I do not think it’s something I forgot how to do. ”
This coaching team is actually nice
The Lions’ coaching staff were not afraid to show their personality a bit in their first press in Detroit, after Dan Campbell’s lead. There was Glenn, who was asked about his stance as a player, when he made the onslaught in 1997 on the play in which Barry Sanders darkened 2000 meters. His response:
“Oh, are you really going to bring it back?” he said with a smile. However, he played along and told the story and how embarrassed he felt at the moment. Barry had just darkened 2000 yards, but it was right on point. With the next game, Sanders reached it 51 yards for a first game. Who was there to tackle him just after a touch? Aaron Glenn.
‘When I chased him down, I looked up and there were 2,000 meters. So I’m on the bandwagon to tackle Barry Sanders for his 2,000 meters. ‘
Oh, and there was this striking moment between Duce Staley, the rugby rugby coach, and the attractive managing editor Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit:
Of course, it’s easy to be personal and loving during the first press conference of the year. Still no adversity to speak of. Yet it feels more personality than we have combined over the past three years.