Detroit Lions head coaching candidates: Winston Moss

Winston Moss is a surprising addition to the Detroit Lions coaching search. The longtime Packers assistant is among Bob Quinn’s requested interviews.

Winston Moss played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Raiders, and Seattle Seahawks. After retiring at the end of the 1997 season he immediately joined the NFL’s coaching ranks. He paid his dues as a quality control coach with the Seahawks and then the New Orleans Saints until the Saints linebackers coach left to take a college head coaching job in 2000.

Moss took on that role, before joining the Green Bay Packers in 2006. By 2007 Moss was the Packers assistant head coach, and when they purged their defensive staff after 2008, he was the only survivor of note.

The only head coaching experience Winston Moss has is the 2016 pro bowl. Mike McCarthy fell ill, and Moss stepped up to the plate. While it means absolutely nothing, this is the only candidate for the Lions head coach job with an undefeated record as a head coach. Team Irvin, Moss’s team, won that game 49-27 over the Andy Reid coached team Rice. We can all be thankful that the NFL abandoned this format.

There are few indications available regarding what kind of coach Moss is, but he has a wide variety of experience. When he joined the Green Bay Packers coaching staff they ran a variation of the Tampa Two defense. After the coaching change, the Packers ran a the Dom Capers 3-4 defense.

What linebackers do in these systems could not really be much more different. The Tampa Two features massive zones to be covered with almost superhuman athletes gliding around the field like gazelles. Half of the linebackers in Dom Capers’ schemes are pass rushers. While the team did hire Kevin Greene as the outside linebackers coach initially, Moss eventually took over the entire group.

As a linebackers coach, Moss has never called plays at the NFL level, and while that is not a prerequisite for understanding the head coaching job, he would likely need the support of experienced coordinators to be successful as the Lions head coach.

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He is a long shot to get the job, but the interview at the very least gives Bob Quinn the opportunity to talk to a Division rival about his roster and coaching staff in a setting that virtually guarantees a frank appraisal.