Tag: Hank Fraley

Report: OL coach Hank Fraley is returning to the Detroit Lions in 2021

The Free Press’ Dave Birkett is reporting that Detroit Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley is returning to the team for the 2021 season.

The Free Press’ Dave Birkett is reporting that Detroit Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley is returning to the team for the 2021 season. The team is expected to announce the move in the near future.

With Lions making sweeping changes throughout the front office and coaching staff, many position coaches were allowed to interview elsewhere this offseason. Fraley had interviews with the Cincinnati Bengals and the Pittsburgh Steelers but opted to return to the Lions.

An 11-year NFL offensive lineman, Fraley began coaching at the college level in 2012. He broke into the league in 2014 with the Vikings, but after three seasons went back to college and coached at UCLA in 2017.

In 2018, he joined the Lions as an assistant offensive line coach, was promoted to offensive line coach in 2020, and did a fantastic job this past season.

Under his tutelage in 2020, Taylor Decker had a career season at left tackle, rookie left guard Jonah Jackson was able to effectively start all 16 games, and center Frank Ragnow earned his first Pro Bowl honors, while also being recognized as a second-team All-Pro.

Constant injuries led to a revolving door at right guard and tackle, but Fraley was able to find success with replacement players, even when he was leaning on his fourth offensive tackle in Matt Nelson — who was a defensive lineman at Iowa just two years ago.

Fraley is a highly respected coach, who is known for being able to connect with his players while maximizing their potential. His returning to Detroit is a massive plus for the offense.

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Lions OL coach Hank Fraley to interview with Steelers

Fraley did a very good job with the Lions OL in 2020

Hank Fraley could be on his way to Pittsburgh. The Detroit Lions offensive line coach in 2020 is interviewing with the Steelers for the same position on Mike Tomlin’s staff.

Because the Lions staff is not tendered to the team beyond the end of the league year, Fraley is free to interview without permission.

He would be a loss to Detroit. Fraley was the one assistant coach truly worth retaining. The former NFL center did great work in making Frank Ragnow, Taylor Decker and Tyrell Crosby better players under his hands-on tutelage. He also helped guide third-round draft pick Jonah Jackson to the PFWA all-rookie team at guard.

Fraley took over for Jeff Davidson in 2020 after being his assistant in 2019.

Report: Bengals to interview Lions OL coach Hank Fraley

The Cincinnati Bengals have an OL coach target in mind.

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The Cincinnati Bengals have a void to fill at offensive line coach and hope to poach from the Detroit Lions.

According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the Bengals will interview Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley to fill the spot left empty by Jim Turner’s departure.

Fraley is widely respected as one of the better line coaches in the league. A former 10-year NFL player, Fraley started coaching offensive lines in 2012 at the collegiate level and joined the Lions last year.

If he gets the gig in Cincinnati, Fraley would be responsible for coaching up first-round product Jonah Williams and helping the team potentially draft a name like Penei Sewell in the first round of this year’s draft. His extensive experience all over the NFL as a player and coach would help in free agency too.

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Report: Lions OL coach Hank Fraley to interview with the Bengals

Fraley did a great job with the Lions OL in 2020, one of the team’s bright spots

One of the bright spots on the 2020 Detroit Lions coaching staff, offensive line coach Hank Fraley, is set to interview with the Cincinnati Bengals for their vacant OL coach position.

Following a report from Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, a Bengals source confirmed that Fraley will interview with the Bengals on Friday. Cincinnati fired several assistant coaches this week, including OL coach Jim Turner. Head coach Zac Taylor remains in place after there was some question about his job status following a disappointing 4-11-1 season.

Fraley did a very good job with the Lions, who had one of the NFL’s better offensive lines despite starting a rookie guard in Jonah Jackson and having several injury-related shuffles to the starting lineup and reserves. The 2020 season was his first as the OL coach after serving as an assistant in 2019.

Watch: Several Lions position coaches mic’d up during 2020 training camp

With no fans allowed to attend the Detroit Lions 2020 training camp, the organization mic’d up several coaches during practices and put them into videos.

With no fans allowed to attend the Detroit Lions 2020 training camp, the organization has kept fans entertained throughout the last three weeks by creating unique videos — including micing up several coaches during practices and put together video segments.

Below are four videos of different Lions position coaches and a behind-the-scenes look at how they do their job during training camp.

Robert Prince, wide receivers coach

Prince joined the Lions organization in 2014 under then-coach Jim Caldwell, but coach Matt Patricia thought so highly of him that he kept him on staff when he took over in 2018.

Hank Fraley, offensive line coach

After 11 seasons in the NFL, Fraley joined the coaching ranks in 2012, joined the Lions as an assistant offensive line coach in 2018 under Patricia, and was promoted to offensive line coach this past offseason.

Bo Davis, defensive line coach

Davis began coaching high school football in 1998 and within three years was snatched up by Nick Saban at LSU. He would follow Saban to the Miami Dolphins, then on to Alabama, and after several more stints between the NFL and college ranks, Davis landed with the Lions in 2018. He is entering his third year as Patricia’s defensive line coach.

Steve Gregory, defensive backs coach

After an eight-year career playing safety in the NFL, Gregory began his NFL coaching career in Detroit, joining Patricia’s staff in 2018 as an assistant defensive backs coach. He was promoted to defensive backs coach this past offseason.

Joe Dahl’s strange season splits highlight the Lions’ OL inconsistency

Dahl was exceptional during the 1st quarter of games in 2019 but rarely sustained the strong starts

Detroit’s offensive line play was all over the map in the 2019 season. From injuries — every regular starter missed at least one game — to an unusual guard rotation to inconsistent performances, the line struggled at times but also turned in some very impressive outings.

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No player epitomized the feast-or-famine nature of the Lions offensive line in 2019 more than left guard Joe Dahl. His season splits highlight why it was so difficult for the Lions offense to stay in a sustained groove, and also why the Lions made significant changes to the line in the offseason.

Dahl was one of the very best blockers in the entire NFL regardless of position in the first quarters of games last season. Only two players, All-Pros Ronnie Stanley and Quenton Nelson, graded out higher in pass protection from Pro Football Focus, than Dahl did in the first quarter in 2019.

Dahl’s pass protection grade for the entire season came in at just 73.0 in PFF’s metrics. He ranked 30th in pass blocking efficiency amongst guards who played at least 50 percent of snaps.

Entering training camp, Dahl remains penciled in as the starting left guard. He will face competition from third-round rookie Jonah Jackson, free agent Josh Garnett and perhaps others as new OL coach Hank Fraley looks for a winning combination. If Dahl can harness how well he played in first quarters a year ago, the job is his and the Lions will be better for it.

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No preseason is a big problem for the Lions’ rebuilt offensive line

Detroit will have at least two new starters on the offensive line in 2020

Every NFL team will lose some benefits by not having preseason games. The Detroit Lions continuity on the coaching staff and at the offensive skill position players puts the team in a better spot than many of their opponents.

The offensive line, however…

Detroit is breaking in two new starters on the right side. Rick Wagner and Graham Glasgow are both gone. Big-ticket free agent Halapoulivaati Vaitai will be the right tackle, a role he played with a limited degree of success as a reserve in Philadelphia. At least he’s a known commodity.

Right guard is a complete mystery right now. It was the only real open spot on the starting offense entering camp. Kenny Wiggins figured to have the best chance, and his chances are augmented by the lack of proving-ground competition that the preseason would have provided. It’s going to be that much harder for rookies Jonah Jackson and Logan Stenberg to try and crack the starting lineup.

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Left guard was poised for competition, too. I’ve often predicted Jackson, the team’s third-round pick from Ohio State, would win the starting left guard spot over holdover Joe Dahl, or Wiggins, or veteran Oday Aboushi, or newcomer Joshua Garnett. Now I can’t hold to that prediction with any sort of confidence. Even though I do expect the guard rotation experiment from last season to continue, there should be a first amongst equals. Jackson’s opportunity to earn that first status is severely hampered by the preseason cancelation.

The uncertainty at those spots negatively impacts the two established, quality starters up front in left tackle Taylor Decker and center Frank Ragnow. Don’t forget the Lions are breaking in a new offensive line coach in Hank Fraley, who takes over for Jeff Davidson after being an assistant last year. Fraley is familiar with the players and the blocking scheme is expected to remain essentially the same, but it’s still another card that can collapse the whole offensive house.

It’s a lot of moving parts that need to come together quickly to keep the Lions offense flying high with Matthew Stafford and his weapons. Losing the chance to play together in preseason is a major hit to the Detroit offensive line.

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