A few more bits of Lions coaching news

December 31, 10:27 AMDetroit Lions ExaminerChris Morgan

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How hard can it be to replace this guy? (Getty Images)

Well, Mayhew may be a former Millen underling, and thus not trustworthy at all, but at the very least he's being proactive. Not only has he lined up an interview with Steve Spagnuolo (as I chronicled here) but he has set up several more interviews as well with the likes of Minnesota defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, Tennessee defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, Dallas offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, and Washington defensive backs coach Jerry Gray. I have also heard talks of an interview with New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels being in the works. Clearly the Lions are putting a lot of effort into their coaching search, and that is worth something.

However, I hope they steer clear of Garrett or McDaniels, as they really need a defensive guy. Spagnuolo is still my first choice, but Schwartz or Frazier wouldn't be bad either. The Titans do have a very tough defense, and Minnesota is where the Steelers plucked Mike Tomlin from. Granted, that doesn't mean Frazier will be as good as Tomlin has been, but it is a regime that has produced at least one good head coach.

I don't know anything about Gray, but that puts him in the mold of a John Harbaugh or Tony Sparano type, which worked well for Baltimore and Miami respectively. Of course, the Dolphins also had Parcells pulling the strings, but I digress. Garrett is the guy I am really wary of. He was the next great head coach de jour last year, so the Cowboys locked him up as the heir apparent to Wade Phillips, but now his stock has fallen mightily. I think the bloom is off that rose.

Of course, nothing will likely come to fruition until after the playoffs, as coaches can't be interviewed whilst their team is playing in the playoffs. However, Spagnuolo and Schwartz can be interviewed this week since their teams are on byes. I don't know what is going to happen, but I just hope they make the right decision. Additionally, there appears there is going to be some coaching cannibalism going on which will help the Lions, with Eric Mangini interviewing with the Cleveland Browns and Mike Shanahan likely to end up on his feet. However, there are still likely to be a couple more jobs opening up, unless those in charge of Cincinnati and Kansas City are crazy people. That's another reason I am glad the Lions have gotten on the ball, there is no time to sit by and let these guys interview other places.

On Friday, I will probably write a "New Year's Resolutions" for the Lions type article, then I will get into season in review type stuff. Since I am a huge college football fan, the next couple of days are pretty full for me. While you may be out partying and perhaps wearing those silly glasses that have the year on them (which by the way mercifully will not be possible in 2010) I will be watching the end of the Peach... I mean "Chik-fil-a" Bowl. Regardless, I hope we both have a Happy New Year. On the bright side of things, the Lions will be undefeated in 2009 until at least September.

Of course, they will also be winless.  But what else is new?