Lions Hire Former Jaguars QB Mark Brunell as Assistant Coach

Mark Brunell was reportedly a candidate for Jacksonville's quarterbacks coach position, but instead it appears he will be taking the same position with the Detroit Lions.

A reported candidate for Urban Meyer's staff in Jacksonville has instead taken a coaching role in the NFC. That candidate just happens to be the most accomplished quarterback in franchise history, in this case.

The Detroit Lions announced on Friday the hiring of former Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell, who spent nine seasons with the team and is the owner of most of the franchise's major passing records. Brunell will serve as quarterbacks coach on new head coach Dan Campbell's staff. 

According to Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle, Brunell was a potential candidate to become quarterbacks coach for the Jaguars in Meyer's first season with the squad. The Jaguars have yet to officially hire a quarterbacks coach for Meyer's staff.

Mark Brunell, Mike McCoy and Mike Sullivan under consideration for Jaguars quarterbacks coach position, according to league sources

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) January 28, 2021

During his nine seasons with the Jaguars, Brunell was named to the Pro Bowl three times (1996, 1997, 1999). Brunell is still the franchise leader in passing yards (25,698), passing touchdowns (144), completions, pass attempts, and yards per attempt (7.1).

Brunell would have been an interesting choice for Jaguars quarterbacks coach considering he doesn't have any NFL or college coaching experience. With that said, Brunell has been mentoring quarterbacks at the NFL Scouting Combine for the last several years.

With Brunell now heading to the Lions, Meyer will have to look elsewhere to fill one of the most important roles on his staff. 

Mike McCoy is a former head coach and offensive coordinator who also has several years of being a quarterback coach under his belt. He most recently was the Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator for parts of the 2018 season.

Meanwhile, Mike Sullivan is the current director of recruiting for Army's football program. He has experience as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the NFL level, winning a Super Bowl as the team's quarterbacks coach in 2011.

No assistant coach has been formally announced by the Jaguars organization, though Meyer said last week that the announcements should come soon.

"Yeah, next week I’d like to—we’ll give a deep dive into what’s taken place because there’s been no finality to where we're at as a coaching staff. So I’d like to hold on that until next week, because there’s been nothing set in stone yet," Meyer said.