Tag: Dave Birkett

Report: Detroit Lions have ‘quite a few offers’ for Matthew Stafford and a trade could happen soon

Free Press’ Dave Birkett is reporting that the Detroit Lions have “quite a few offers” for Matthew Stafford and a trade could happen soon.

Free Press’ Dave Birkett is reporting that the Detroit Lions have “quite a few offers” on the table for Matthew Stafford and a trade “could be done in the coming days”.

Coach Dan Campbell told Birkett that the meetings between Stafford and the organization were “cordial” but that “you could tell, his (Stafford’s) mind was made up that it was time,” and while they are taking what he wants into consideration, they are  “going to find the best value for the Detroit Lions.”

So what’s the best value for the Lions?

Birkett suggests, “Because the Lions are taking a long-term approach to their rebuild, they likely will value draft capital in any deal.”

It’s been suggested 10-12 teams remain interested in Stafford but Birkett notes that not all of them are “considered realistic suitors”. He narrowed the list saying, “the Indianapolis Colts, Washington and the San Francisco 49ers are believed to be among the interested parties — and the Lions’ proximity to cutting a deal suggests they will get at least a first-round pick.”

It’s worth noting that the at least a first-round pick narrative has been a constant theme since the news broke of Stafford requesting a trade — especially among the Lions’ beat –, and if that is indeed the expected starting price, these three teams have the draft capital to make a competitive offer.

While it’s not clear what the Lions would draw beyond a first-round pick, here’s a look at the above team’s draft capital within the Top-100 picks.

San Francisco holds overall picks No. 12 (first-round), 44 (second-round), and they will be getting a third-round compensatory pick (roughly pick 100 or so) in 2021 after developing a minority coach (Robert Saleh) who was hired as a head coach (New York Jets).

Washington’s first-round pick is lower than the 49ers, but with two third-round picks this year, they could potentially offer a better selection of options. They hold overall picks No. 19 (first-round), 51 (second-round), as well as picks 74 and 82 in the third round.

The Colts hold overall picks No. 21, 54, and 84 meaning they may have to get creative with future picks if they want to keep some of this year’s high draft capital and stay competitive in the bidding process.

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Report: Detroit Lions ‘expected to add Dave Fipp as special teams coordinator’

Free Press’ Dave Birkett is reporting that the Detroit Lions “are expected to add Dave Fipp as special teams coordinator”.

Free Press’ Dave Birkett is reporting that the Detroit Lions “are expected to add Dave Fipp as special teams coordinator”.

After initially blocking an interview request, the Philadelphia Eagles — who are in the middle of a coaching change — granted Fipp permission to interview with the Lions, and they pounced at the opportunity.

Fipp began coaching special teams in 1998 at Holy Cross and over the next decade, Fipp would expand his coaching resume to the defensive side of the ball at the University of Arizona, Cal Poly, Nevada, and San Jose State.

In 2008, the San Francisco 49ers made him their assistant special teams coach,  and then three years later he joined the Miami Dolphins in the same role — this is where he met current Lions’ coach Dan Campbell.

He was with Miami for two seasons when the Eagles hired him away, making him their 2013 special teams coach, where he remained until this offseason.

Fipp helped turn around the Eagles’ special teams fairly quickly. In his second, third, and fourth seasons, they ranked among the tops in the league, but over the last four seasons, they plateaued only performing at average.

Here’s a look at where they landed on Sports Illustrated Rick Gosselin’s — the leading expert on special teams –, Football Outsider’s DVOA, and Pro Football Focus’ rankings in each of his seven seasons.

Year Gosselin DVOA PFF
2013 19 25 22
2014 1 1 1
2015 2 10 27
2016 1 2 5
2017 13 16 1
2018 14 15 18
2019 15 19 11
2020 17 22 5

In 2014, the Fipp led special teams unit scored seven touchdowns and resulted in a clear No. 1 ranking in all three systems.

In 2016, the Eagles went through a change at long snapper, switching over from Jon Dorenbos to Rick Lovato, and by 2019, Lovato was a Pro Bowler.

In 2017, he helped mold rookie kicker Jake Elliott into a Pro Bowl alternate, converting on 84.6-percent of his field goal attempts and accounting for 11 points in a Super Bowl Victory — including a clutch 46-yard field goal, putting the Eagles up eight with a minute left in the game.

It’s no secret the Eagles struggled in several aspects last season and special teams were no exception — their coverage was inconsistent, they botched more than one return, had a punt blocked, and Elliott only connected on 73.7-percent of his field goals.

“At the end of the day, as coaches, we focus really a lot on the process,” Fipp said via the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I know the outside world focuses a lot on the outcome. There’s a lot of things in the outcome that I think any individual coach can’t necessarily control. Again, I’m not going to go into all that stuff, but I think for coaches, we focus on the process: ‘Did your players know what to do? Did they know how to do it? Did you put them in this situation in practice? Did you drill it? Did you go over all the things possible to have them prepared the best you could have them prepared?’”

The Inquirer’s EJ Smith added that reading between the lines of the above paragraph, suggests that it translates as “Fipp can get players ready to play, but how they play is ultimately up to them.”

Dave Zangaro of NBS Sports offered more perspective on the Eagles special teams struggles:

In fairness to Fipp, it’s much harder to judge special teams than it is to judge offense or defense. If an offense stinks, it’s easy to see. Ditto defense. But special teams consist of several different units and a lot more players.

On top of that, injuries have killed the Eagles in recent seasons. That hurts a team on offense and defense but it crushes teams on special teams. Because any time a starter gets hurt, they’re replaced by a backup who is normally a special teams contributor. It all trickles down and leaves Fipp without his top players, which has happened plenty the last few seasons.

Fipp is a respected special teams teacher and one that holds his players accountable. Several Eagles writers believe a fresh start could do wonders for him and the Eagles.

He’ll join a Lions special teams unit that ended last season ranked 3rd in Gosselin’s rankings, 11th in DVOA, and 7th in PFF system under coordinator’s Brayden Coombs and interim Marquise Williams.

Report: A team rule violation factored into the Lions releasing of Jayron Kearse

Dave Birkett of the Free Press is reporting that a team rule violation factored into the Detroit Lions releasing of safety Jayron Kearse.

Dave Birkett of the Free Press is reporting that a team rule violation factored into the Detroit Lions’ releasing of safety Jayron Kearse.

“Kearse committed a violation of team rules before the Lions’ loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week when he left the team hotel without permission and was late for bed check, multiple sources told the Free Press,” Birkett reported. “Kearse, who was a late addition to last week’s injury report, did not play against the Buccaneers because of those transgressions, and likely would have been inactive again Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.”

Birkett would go on to suggest that the team also wanted to get an extended look at some of the other safeties on the roster, like Tracy Walker and Will Harris, which lines up with what interim coach Darrell Bevell said on Monday.

When asked to comment on Brikett’s report at today’s press conference, Bevell would not go as far as to confirm the report, but reading between the lines seems to suggest it was indeed a factor.

“Like I’ve told you guys, and I think I’ve told obviously the whole team, everything that we do matters,” Bevell said. “So everything that goes into any situation matters. So all of that out there, I mean, I won’t get into the specifics of what happened with ‘JK’ (Kearse). At the end of the day, we decided to make a change so that we could end up seeing some of the younger players that are on the roster. Obviously, give him other opportunities with other teams elsewhere – that’s kind of where we left it.”

Last week the Lions asked Walker to return to a starting role, will Harris as the team’s third safety, and C.J. Moore as the fourth option. These roles are expected to repeat themselves this weekend, and it’s also possible rookie Bobby Price — who is protected this week and has one roster elevation remaining — could also get a look.

Report: Detroit Lions set to interview ex-Texans GM Rick Smith next week

Dave Birkett of the Free Press is reporting that the Detroit Lions are set to interview ex-Houston Texans general manager Rick Smith next week for their open position.

Dave Birkett of the Free Press is reporting that the Detroit Lions are set to interview ex-Houston Texans general manager Rick Smith next week for their open position.

“Smith is expected to interview with the Lions before Christmas,” Birkett said, “likely next week, a person familiar with the Lions’ plans told the Free Press, and is eligible to be hired immediately as he is not currently employed by a team.”

Smith was one of the top candidates for general manager we at Lions Wire identified after Bob Quinn was fired, and is currently on a shortlist of preferred candidates from Lions Wire editors Jeff Risdon and Erik Schlitt.

The youngest GM in the NFL at the time, Smith took over the position for Houston in 2006 and held it through the 2017 season when he left to care for his wife who had breast cancer. In addition to the GM position, Smith also held an executive vice president of football operations role over his final five seasons.

Largely acknowledged as the person responsible for building the Texans into a winner, Smith is credited with drafting, J.J. Watt, DeAndre Hopkins, Deshaun Watson, Jadeveon Clowney, and Mario Williams, as well as grabbing A.J. Bouye and Arian Foster as undrafted free agents.

In our examination of GM and coaching candidates crossing career paths, we noted that Smith and popular coaching candidate Robert Saleh spent five seasons together in Houston over the 2006-10 season. Smith was the GM at the time, while Saleh was a defensive quality control coach in 2006-08, and then assistant linebackers coach for the 2009-10 seasons under then-coach Gary Kubiak.

Currently, the Lions have interviewed three internal candidates — Kyle O’Brien, Lance Newmark, and Rob Lohman — for the open GM position, while Smith is the first known interview from outside of Allen Park to be brought in.

Report: Lions’ Jeff Okudah headed for surgery, then IR next week

Dave Birkett of the Free Press is reporting that rookie corner Jeff Okudah is headed for groin surgery and will be placed on injured reserve next week.

Dave Birkett of the Free Press is reporting that rookie corner Jeff Okudah is headed for groin surgery and will be placed on injured reserve next week.

Okudah has been dealing with a nagging groin injury since his time at Ohio State and it has popped up a few times this season, limiting his availability. Birkett reported in his piece that Okudah’s groin has “slowly gotten worse this season” and that surgery now would help his availability for the 2021 offseason.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport followed up Birkett’s report by confirming his statements, “This is true. The No. 3 pick will have surgery Tuesday, source confirmed, in a core muscle procedure. He’ll be full strength for the offseason program with a new coach and GM.”

It’s been an up and down season for the rookie. He has flashed at times — especially in the run game — but overall most fans have come away disappointed. If hard to fault that point of view, but it is worth noting that rookie corners rarely succeed in their first years, and Okudah is a highly intelligent player who is meticulous in his work ethic, so hopefully, a reset physically will put him in the best position possible to contribute next year.

Report: Lions to re-sign WR Chris Lacy

Dave Birkett of the Free Press is reporting that the Detroit Lions are re-signing wide receiver Chris Lacy.

Welcome back, Chris Lacy.

Just 10 days ago, Lacy — who spent the last two years with the Lions — was cut from the 90-man roster as the team reduced the roster to 80-players as part of the new training camp COVID-19 rules adjustments.

It unclear why Lacy, who was on the roster bubble after two stints on the active roster last year, would be released at this time. But after clearing waivers and a week on the open market with no takers, Lacy returned to Allen Park for a workout on Sunday.

Now, the Lions appear willing to give him another shot as Dave Birkett of the Free Press is reporting that the Lions are re-signing Lacy.

This move was announced after the day’s transactions and the Lions have yet to confirm the signing, so no corresponding move was announced at this time.

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With practice starting up again tomorrow, if Lacy has already passed through testing COVID-19 protocols, it’s possible he may be eligible to take the field with the rest of the team. If that is the case, expect the Lions to acknowledge the move in the morning along with the corresponding decision.