The Detroit Lions coaching search is starting to end now, but some big rumors from Friday could change the trajectory of the best candidates in the search.
On the ‘The A-Team’ podcast with Adam Clanton and Adam Wexler, Arron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle – with whom we interviewed Rick Smith here – leaves some big news about the Lions’ coaching search and their quest for 49ers defense coordinator Robert Saleh.
“I said Saleh did not do very well in the Detroit interview, and he’s not a chance to get the job,” Wilson said.
This is of course discouraging news for all the Lions fans who were hoping for Saleh, but it’s always important to take up such rumors with a grain of salt. The Lions have done a good job of keeping news internal, so if something like this leaks out, there’s always a chance the Lions will deliberately put it out there. There are many teams interested in Saleh – the Jets, Falcons have already interviewed him; the Chargers and Jaguars are scheduled for Saturday – and the Lions could potentially benefit by posting bad information out there.
It is not very reassuring to hear such news.
However, Wilson was not ready to drop news about the Lions’ search. He also noted that the Lions may be interested in Pat Fitzgerald, head coach in the North West.
“There’s some interest in Pat Fitzgerald,” Wilson said.
Fitzgerald helped turn around a Wildcat team that was not the most competitive during the earlier games. He has been the head coach there for 15 years and comes off the 7-2 season with a big win over Auburn in the Citrus Bowl. Northwest now has five winning seasons in the past six years, including four wins in the Bowl series.
In another rumor, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN said that the Lions’was impressedWith former Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, with whom the team interviewed last week.
The rumors are starting to turn. Hopefully this means that we will come to the end of this.