Top Coaches Lions Must Consider to Replace Matt Patricia After Firing

The Detroit Lions became the second NFL team in the market for a new head coach after they fired Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn on Saturday. 

The moves came two days after the Lions' 41-25 loss to the Houston Texans on Thanksgiving Day. The 46-year-old Patricia went 13-29-1 overall as Detroit's head coach after taking over in February 2018. 

The Lions and Houston Texans are the only teams with a vacancy at head coach, though more will likely be added to that list after the regular season ends. 

Looking ahead to Detroit's search for a new coach, here are the best candidates to take over in 2021: 

• Eric Bieniemy, Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator
• Brian Daboll, Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator
• Kellen Moore, Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator
• Robert Saleh, San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator
• Mike McDaniel, San Francisco 49ers running game coordinator
• Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator

One common hallmark of teams hiring a new coach is they look to do the opposite of what they did last time. 

Patricia served as defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots for six seasons before taking over the Lions. 

If that happens in Detroit, there is no shortage of smart offensive minds worth being an NFL head coach. 

Eric Bieniemy will likely be the hottest name out there. The Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator has already been connected to the Texans, with Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reporting last month that Deshaun Watson is pushing for team chairman and CEO Cal McNair to hire him. 

Even though Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid are given most of the credit for Kansas City's success on offense over the past three seasons, Reid has heaped praise on Bieniemy's contributions. 

Here's what Reid told reporters about Bieniemy when teams were interviewing him in January:

"This guy is a phenomenal coach is what they're looking at. And I think (all Chiefs players) would all stand on the table for him. ... They'd all stand up and tell you what he's all about. He's a leader of men. And they all (know) he's going to shoot you straight—honest, honest, honest. And then they also know and respect his mind. I give him, every weekend, I sit down, we put together this game plan sheet with 200-plus plays on it and he memorizes every play, every formation, just—boom—on recall like that. And every week, I go, 'Listen, are you good with this?' And he goes, 'No problem. I've got it.' But a lot of hard work goes into it. Plus, he's a brilliant dude."

An emerging head-coaching candidate for next season is Brian Daboll of the Buffalo Bills. The 45-year-old has 20 years of NFL experience and was co-offensive coordinator at the University of Alabama in 2017.

The Bills offense ranks 12th in Football Outsiders' DVOA through 10 games this season. Josh Allen remains a roller coaster ride, but there's been a lot more highs than lows for the third-year quarterback. He's already set a career high with 21 touchdown passes and is completing 68.4 percent of his passes after being under 60 percent the previous two years. 

Kellen Moore's stock isn't as high this year as it was after the 2019 season, but it's hard to totally blame the 32-year-old for everything that's gone wrong for the Dallas Cowboys. Dak Prescott became one of the NFL's best quarterbacks last year, Moore's first season as offensive coordinator. 

Two key members of Kyle Shanahan's staff with the San Francisco 49ers could also be attractive candidates. 

Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who became a Twitter favorite in 2019 thanks to his passionate sideline celebrations, has the 49ers defense ranked 11th in scoring defense and 12th in Football Outsiders DVOA this season despite a number of key players missing significant time, including Nick Bosa, Richard Sherman, K'Waun Williams, Dee Ford and Dre Greenlaw. 

The crown jewel of Shanahan's offense is the running game, which is engineered by run-game coordinator Mike McDaniel. San Francisco led the NFC in 2019 with 144.1 yards per game on the ground and ran over the Green Bay Packers with 285 yards on 42 carries in the NFC Championship Game. 

Kyle Poser of NinersNation.com called McDaniel the "unsung hero" for San Francisco:

"The Niners’ run game coordinator is a key to a lot of this, and he’s the one assistant that Shanahan has taken everywhere he’s gone—from Houston to Washington, Cleveland, Atlanta and now San Francisco. The former Yale receiver has been a popular coordinator candidate the last year or two, and with the new rules in place on coaches seeking promotions, it’d be easier for him to leave if he wants to call plays somewhere else."

One retread candidate who is deserving of a second look is Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. 

Most of the attention in Tampa has been given to the offense, and the dynamic between Tom Brady and Bruce Arians, but the defense has been vital to why the team is squarely in the playoff mix. 

The Bucs rank in the top two in Football Outsiders' pass defense, run defense and total defense DVOA through 11 games this season. 

Bowles' 26-41 record as a head coach in five seasons with the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets doesn't exactly inspire confidence. Considering how far the Jets have fallen since he was fired after the 2018 season, it's hard to put the blame on the 57-year-old.

Detroit should be an attractive job for any coaching candidate this offseason, The franchise already has a quarterback in place, as Matthew Stafford has been very good over the course of his career. 

The Lions also have a solid offensive nucleus around Stafford, including rookie running back D'Andre Swift and T.J. Hockenson. Kenny Golladay is a big-play receiver who has been hobbled by injuries this season, but is still averaging 16.9 yards per catch in five games. 

Even though bad luck tends to follow the Lions around, they have the pieces in place for a quick turnaround if they bring in the right head coach.