Lovie Smith expected to interview with Detroit Lions
Lovie Smith is one of the top head coaching candidates left on the open market, and he is being heavily linked to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers opening. The former Chicago Bears head coach is viewed as the favorite to be the Buccaneers head coach, and the match looks perfect on paper. Smith has plentiful experience, and he would be able to bring a great staff with him to Tampa Bay- something the Bucs sorely need. He’s also one of the best head coaches around at working with players, and neither Raheem Morris nor Greg Schiano were good in that regard and for very different reasons.
The Buccaneers aren’t the only team going after Smith, and there’s going to be some competition for him. That’s going to raise Smith’s price for the Bucs, but I still think Smith ends up in Tampa despite the interest from other organizations.
According to the Detroit Free Press’s Dave Birkett, the Detroit Lions are expected to interview Lovie Smith, and it would definitely be interesting for the former Bears head coach to end up leading the Lions. The Bucs should be worried about this potential interview, since Smith and Lions GM Martin Mayhew are close. The biggest need for the Lions is for a coach who can work well with quarterbacks, and Smith is expected to bring Jeff Tedford and Rod Marinelli aboard. Are either of those names enticing to Lions fans?
Ken Whisenhunt and Tom Cable are two other names on the Lions head coaching list, and all of the coaches the Lions are looking at seem to be upgrades over Jim Schwartz. Smith has an advantage of being close with Mayhew, but he also has the disadvantage of not having a strong background on the offensive side of the ball.