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The Detroit Lions have fired Matt Patricia, but there’s still five weeks left until the end of the season, so someone is going to have to take the reigns for the rest of the year.
In this situation, the first man up for the Lions will be current offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, Bevell will be taking the reigns as the interim coach after the firing of Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn was revealed on Saturday afternoon.
Bevell has waited a long time to get his shot at any kind of a head gig regardless of the circumstances. He has been a coordinator for his entire career, and never has received much love on the open market in terms of being a head coach. Now, Bevell will get the chance he has never seen to lead a team, albeit under much tougher circumstances than he likely would have wanted.
Darrell Bevell Career
For years, Bevell has been an offensive coordinator, first with the Minnesota Vikings and then with the Seattle Seahawks. In Seattle, Bevell got plenty of love for what he was able to do with Russell Wilson and the talented offense he had, and even won a Super Bowl while coming within an eyelash of winning another. In spite of this, Bevell never got the love as a head coach candidate and was removed from his role in Seattle. After taking some time off, Bevell was tapped to take over for Jim Bob Cooter in Detroit by Matt Patricia. It’s the role he’s held ever since.
Detroit’s offense under Bevell has been inconsistent at times, but arguably not as much of a problem as the defense has been. Overall, Bevell has been a solid coordinator through the years in all of his stops after being a quarterback at Wisconsin in college.
Lions Offense During 2020 Season
The Lions have struggled at times this season with both the run and the pass, and have an offense which is near the middle of the league in terms of effectiveness. The Lions put up 347 yards a game under Bevell, 250 of which come through the air and 96 of which come on the ground. Perhaps the best thing Bevell has helped do is emphasize a better rushing attack and offensive line play. That’s been the good news. The bad news has been the inability of the team to create big plays on offense in the passing game. Bevell has helped that when his players have been healthy, but that hasn’t been consistent at all during his tenure.
Overall, Bevell was just about the best candidate on the current staff to take over as head coach considering his overall experience with the team and in the league. He’s waited for the opportunity for a long time, and regardless of how he got it, it’s nice to see Bevell get his chance as a boss at this point for the Lions.
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