New Lions Coaching Staff Lacks Experience in New Roles

LB coach Tyrone McKenzie is the only new hire who has been a position coach or coordinator prior to being hired/promoted by the Detroit Lions

John Maakaron | Mar 9, 2020

The Lions officially announced the hiring of five outside members of the coaching staff to go along with promoting three coaches to their current positions.

The outside hires include Tony Carter (defensive assistant), Tyrone McKenzie (linebackers coach), Morris Henry (assistant strength and conditioning coach), Ty Warren (minority coaching internship) and Tom Kanavy (assistant strength and conditioning coach).

Ben Johnson was promoted to tight ends coach, Steve Gregory was promoted to defensive backs coach and Josh Schuler will be the new strength and conditioning coach.

At the NFL level, the new position coaches and coordinators lack experience in their current roles.

Only linebackers coach Tyrone McKenzie has experience in the current position he is in -- as he served as the linebackers coach for the Tennessee Titans from 2018-19.

That is not to say lower-level coaches cannot step up and perform the duties required to assist head coach Matt Patricia.

It is worth noting, though, that 12 of the 22 coaching positions under Patricia will consist of new individuals in 2020.

That is a staggering amount of turnover from last season.

Recall, Lions ownership required Patricia to make sweeping changes to the coaching staff and is requiring the team to be in playoff contention in 2020.

The current regime is heavily under the microscope, and it lends to speculation that not many experienced coaches were willing to risk coming to Detroit knowing Patricia could be dismissed at any point this upcoming season.

The new coaching staff will have to gel quickly, if the team is to improve to the degree required by upper management.

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Published Mar 9, 2020

JOHN MAAKARON

John Maakaron has covered Detroit Sports since 2013. Brings a vast array of experience covering the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions, Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans, Detroit Mercy Titans, and Oakland University Golden Grizzlies. John brings a wealth of sports broadcast experience. In 2013, John had the vision to establish the Detroit Sports Podcast Network. Has recorded over 3000 podcasts analyzing Detroit Sports. In 2019, Sports Illustrated Media Group, a historical sports media outlet, partnered with Detroit Sports Podcast to provide daily Lions content for their growing and expanding digital media outlet. Our Lions content can also be read in the newspaper at The Oakland Passionate about Detroit Sports and it is reflected in his coverage of the local teams!