Open thread: Which Lions coaching change is the most promising?

The Detroit Lions have made a handful of reported coaching changes. Which will serve the team best in 2024?

The Detroit Lions were able to keep most of their coaching staff intact this offseason. Most importantly, all three coordinators will return after both offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn interviewed for several head coaching jobs.

That said, like most years, there will be some changes among the rest of the coaching staff. Detroit has not published a finalized list of their 2024 coaches—which likely means there are some unannounced additions/subtractions/shifts in titles ahead. But here’s a current list of changes that we know of based on reports:

• Former Titans coach Terrell Williams being hired as Lions DL coach/run game coordinator
• Former Jaguars coach Deshea Townsend being hired as Lions CB coach/pass game coordinator
• Lions DB coach Brian Duker hired as Dolphins DB coach/pass game coordinator
• Lions senior director of player personnel Lance Newmark hired as Commanders assistant GM

It’s obviously not all that surprising that most of the announced changes are on the defensive side of the ball, as Detroit struggled against opposing offenses for much of the 2023 season.

So today’s Question of the Day is:

Which Lions coaching change is the most promising?

My answer: I’m a big fan of the Terrell Williams hire. Titans fans and media raved about the job Williams did as the defensive line coach for six years. And beyond that, he also has leadership qualities that earned trust from Mike Vrabel to the point where Williams served as the head coach for one preseason game last year and the Senior Bowl this year. Not to mention, having that extra intel from the Senior Bowl could come in handy for the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit.

We still don’t know exactly what this means for John Scott Jr. and I mean no disrespect to the job he did last year. Both Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeill had career years. But given all the resources general manager Brad Holmes has put into the defensive line (drafted Levi Onwuzurike, Alim McNeill, Aidan Hutchinson, Josh Paschal, James Houston, Brodric Martin), it feels unacceptable that the defensive line remains a relative weakness on this team.

It’s a bit frustrating that Williams will be this team’s third defensive line coach in three years, but at the same time, I think he’ll be the best fit of the three moving forward, and I’m excited to see what he can do with a very young core of players.