Offensive coordinators the Detroit Lions need to consider hiring in 2022
By Bob Heyrman
The Detroit Lions will likely be in the market to hire a new offensive coordinator/play-caller following the season.
I understand that the Detroit Lions enjoyed plenty of success against the Arizona Cardinals. Still, overall, Dan Campbell is better suited to be the motivating head coach, not the play-caller.
Campbell took over the play-calling duties mid-season, and that all but signaled the end of current offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn. Lynn has plenty of experience calling plays and had tremendous success dating back to his time with the Buffalo Bills and LeSean McCoy.
Lynn also enjoyed many good years as the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers with an offense that featured Antonio Gates and Keenan Allen with Philip Rivers under center and Melvin Gordon in the backfield. For a time, Gordon put up top-five numbers with the Chargers.
I’ll admit, I thought Lynn was a tremendous hire for the Detroit Lions. I thought he’d be the perfect in-game mentor to Campbell and someone Dan could lean on throughout the game. Lynn as a head coach was often criticized for his in-game clock management, but I thought maybe as an assistant coach, that wouldn’t be his responsibility leaving him to solely focus on the Lions’ offense.
After losing his play-calling duties, Anthony Lynn and the Detroit Lions are likely to part ways after the season.
Detroit deploys an excellent offensive line; we knew that coming into the season. That meshed with D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams in the backfield, with Lynn’s willingness to run the football made for a perfect match to Jared Goff’s overall abilities as a game-manager.
Although neither Swift nor Williams is as lethal as Todd Gurley in his prime, the pair certainly can produce a top-10 rushing offense. Today, the Detroit Lions rank 17th averaging 111.6 rushing yards per game which have been inflated since Campbell started calling the shots. It’s the best they’ve been since Barry Sanders strapped up the pads.
Let’s take a look at a few of the potential candidates Detroit may look to replace Lynn with following the season.