3 Candidates Who Could Become Detroit Lions' Next Offensive Coordinator

Here are three candidates who could replace offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn, who has had his play-calling duties diminished this season.

The Detroit Lions' coaching staff, led by head coach Dan Campbell, is still working to complement each other in the proper ways. 

"We're all learning how to work with each other and there again, just how do we complement each other the right way," Campbell explained on Wednesday. "Everybody’s got strengths, and everybody’s got things that aren’t quite their strengths, and how do we balance those things and use what everybody does well and help us? It’s no different than the players, and so that’s something that we’re evolving with and working on and trying to get better.”

Unfortunately, Lions offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn has been put in the most precarious of positions, since he has had his play-calling duties diminished the past month of the season. 

While Lynn is currently focusing on the run game and protections, Campbell has been calling plays offensively on game days.

"I'm very comfortable with the role," Lynn told reporters on Thursday. "Don't mistake comfortable for liking the role, but I'm very comfortable with the role and I want to help and assist Dan the best I can."

While Lynn will always take the high road, it is likely that his tenure will be short-lived in Motown.

Here are three potential candidates who could replace Lynn, if the decision is made to dismiss Lynn at the end of the 2021 season. 

Buffalo Bills passing game coordinator Ken Dorsey

As Josh Allen’s quarterbacks coach, Dorsey has been widely credited with the blossoming of Allen's career the past couple of seasons.

Many NFL pundits view Dorsey as a potential replacement for offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, if the opportunity presents itself for him to move on and become a head coach in the NFL. 

Currently, Dorsey also serves as the Bills' passing game coordinator, an area the Lions are desperately seeking improvement in. 

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Lions running backs coach Duce Staley

If the Lions decide to elevate a coach from within, assistant head coach and running backs coach Duce Staley is a very likely candidate. 

Staley has expressed a desire to potentially run his own offense, if that is the next step on his journey to become an NFL head coach. 

Calling plays and coordinating an offense would boost his candidacy across the league, as he is currently being groomed by Campbell to assume many more responsibilities than he currently has. 

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Michigan Wolverines offensive coordinator Josh Gattis

The Wolverines are on the verge of a berth in the College Football Playoffs, if they are able to defeat the Iowa Hawkeyes this weekend in the Big Ten Championship Game. 

For Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, the offense has evolved this season to rely heavily on the run. 

“Well, the commitment to run has been tremendous for us. Obviously, coming into the season, we felt really great about who Hassan (Haskins) and Blake (Corum) were," Gattis said earlier this season. "Obviously, Hassan, we’ve always felt strongly. When we talked about it in the offseason for the first time -- I know it’s been weeks since I came up here -- but we wanted to make a commitment to the run game. We wanted to establish that. We felt like, considering the depth that we had up front, too, you think about going into the season, we had seven or eight returning offensive linemen who have started in games, considering all the different lineup switches we had last year."

If the Lions are going to continue to work on establishing the run, calling up Gattis to run Campbell's offense might not be such a bad idea in the long run.