Jim Caldwell seems to be strategically selecting his staff based on the needs of his current team. His defensive coordinator, Teryl Austin, was a cornerbacks coach and his new offensive coordinator, Joe Lombardi, was a quarterbacks coach.
The Lions’ corners have been dreadful the last few years and hopefully the addition of Austin will change that. Caldwell has been stressing the importance of developing Matthew Stafford so the hiring of Lombardi makes a lot of sense.
Joe Lombardi is the grandson of the legendary Packers coach Vince Lombardi. In the Lions’ quest for the Super Bowl, it makes sense that they would hire someone who is related to the person that the trophy is named after. It doesn’t hurt to stack the deck after the curse of Bobby Lane.
Lombardi attended the United States Air Force Academy and played tight end. He started his coaching career as a defensive line coach for the University of Dayton. In 2006, he became a defensive assistant for the Atlanta Falcons. The following year he became an offensive assistant for the Saints. In 2009, he was promoted to quarterbacks coach.
During Lombardi’s time as the quarterbacks coach, Drew Brees threw for 5,000 yards three times. His experience with the high powered Saints offense should only help him here in Detroit. He is expected to run an offense similar to the one he was a part of in New Orleans.
Lombardi is trying to make a name for himself as he lives in the shadow of his late grandfather. One way to do this would be to take the Detroit Lions to the Super Bowl. It would be an achievement that no one else has ever done.
Teryl Austin played four years of defensive back for the University of Pittsburgh. He then started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Penn State. He then went on to hold a defensive backs coach job at Wake Forest. This was followed by defensive assistant jobs at Syracuse and Michigan.
In 2003, he became the defensive backs coach for the Arizona Cardinals. Then in 2010, he was defensive coordinator for the University of Florida for a year before becoming the secondary coach for the Baltimore Ravens.
These coaches look to be hungry and eager to succeed in Detroit. Jim Caldwell seems to be making smart decisions with his hires. However, there is no way to tell until the start of next season. The new staff will face their first challenge come draft day.
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