As of Tuesday morning, the Detroit Lions have four known, available candidates for their vacant offensive coordinator position: Mike McDaniel, Mike Kafka, Tee Martin, and Jake Peetz.
Many Lions fans are already aware of the careers of McDaniel and Kafka, but Martin and Peetz are relative unknowns who have not drawn a lot of attention from other teams looking to fill out coaching staffs. That begs the question: what do the Lions see that other teams don’t?
On this week’s PODcast, we discuss those two candidates and whether they’re the right fit. Peetz has some interesting charisma and a no-ego attitude that you could easily see being a great fit in Detroit’s culture (watch his LSU introductory presser here). But his one year as an offensive coordinator at college didn’t go so well. He also hasn’t lasted long in a lot of his jobs, but has crossed paths with some of the best offensive minds in football (Sean McVay, Klint Kubiak, Joe Brady).
Martin has been described as a great motivator with the kind of energy that could be used in Detroit’s coaching staff, but his last stint as an offensive coordinator resulted in him getting play-calling duties stripped—and some social media drama. But as a National Championship-winning quarterback and a coach who has helped both Sam Darnold and Lamar Jackson grow, he’s got some upside to him, too. Coaching alongside Todd Monken helps, as well.
Do either of these candidates have a real chance of landing the job? Or are we putting all of our eggs in the McDaniel or Kafka basket? (Note: this was recorded before the Kafka news)
Additionally, we discuss the level of urgency to get the hire done. Should the Lions be taking their time to make sure the right hire is made, or do they want to make sure they find their guy the quickest before other teams start taking away the best candidates? Should they try to get their guy before other playoff teams potentially enter the offensive coordinator sweepstakes (see: Eagles, Steelers)?
Beyond that, we also talk about the Lions’ All-Pro players and what we learned about the first week of the NFL playoffs.
You can listen to the entire show in the embedded player below or via any podcasting app by searching Pride of Detroit:
You can also catch the entire show—with some between-segments commentary—over on our YouTube and Twitch.
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