Jim Bob Cooter – Lions Lowdown

Detroit Lions announce that OC Jim Bob Cooter will not return

His contract will not be renewed

The Detroit Lions will move forward under coach Matt Patricia with a new offensive coordinator. The team announced on Tuesday that Jim Bob Cooter’s contract will not be renewed.

Cooter, who is 34, will likely get another opportunity in the NFL. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported that Cooter has received requests to interview.

He was originally hired by coach Jim Caldwell as the Lions quarterback coach to start the 2014 season.

In Week 8 of the 2015 season, Cooter was promoted to offensive coordinator following the firing of Joe Lombardi by Caldwell.

Cooter played a role in the Lions’ two playoff appearances during Caldwell’s four-year tenure.

The Lions offense finished 24th in the NFL averaging 327.2 yards per game in the 2018 season after ranking 13th (337.8) in the same category in 2017 when Matthew Stafford compiled a 99.3 passer rating for the season and established a new single-season franchise record.

Cooter and Stafford often said they saw the offense from the same point of view. But in this 2018 season, the tempo was slowed down and Stafford did not throw as many downfield passes as in previous years. It was his first season he didn’t reach the 4,000-yard passing mark since 2010 when he played in just three games due to injury.

In Cooter’s first full season as offensive coordinator in 2016, the Lions scored on 64 of the team’s 156 offensive possessions (41.0 percent), which ranked seventh in the NFL.

In 2015, Cooter helped lead Detroit to a 6-2 record over the final eight games. In that span, Stafford accumulated the highest passer rating (110.1) over eight games by a Lions quarterback as he surpassed the 106.7 rating registered by Greg Landry over an eight-game span in 1976.

Cooter was a backup quarterback at the University of Tennessee where he got his start in coach as a graduate assistant from 2007 to 2008. He earned a bachelor’s degree in sports management from Tennessee in 2006 and went on to receive a master’s degree in sports psychology in 2008.

Detroit Lions Matt Patricia: No decision yet on Jim Bob Cooter’s future

No timeline for staff changes

ALLEN PARK — Matt Patricia said on Monday that he has not made decisions on his staff moving forward. That includes offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter.

The Detroit Lions coach, who just completed his first season with a 6-10 record, said he wants to take time to let the emotions die down and then will evaluate which coaches and players will be a part of the equation moving forward.

“In all aspects, it’s not just coaching, it’s support staff, it’s players, it’s scheduling, it’s everything,’’ Patricia said. “We’ll definitely evaluate.’’

He was asked specifically about Cooter, but Patricia responded in generalities.

Cooter, who was originally hired as the offensive coordinator by ex-coach Jim Caldwell, is in the final season of his contract. The Lions offense went from 13th in the NFL in 2017 to 24th in 2018 based on yards per game.

Patricia said he’s not sure when decisions on his staff will be made.

“I don’t think I need to put a hard timeline on it at this current moment. But obviously we do have a time limit we do have to address with it,’’ Patricia said. “Things will come up when they come up. For the minute I’m going to take the rest of the day, enjoy the New Year, see my kids and we’ll go from there.’’

The Lions wrapped up their season with a 31-0 win at Green Bay on Sunday. The players cleaned out their lockers on Monday.

Five things to watch as Detroit Lions wrap up the season at Green Bay

A battle for last place in the NFC North

When the NFL schedule was released in the spring, this matchup between the LIons and Packers was teaming with possibilities. Perhaps it would even determine the NFC North title or a battle for a wild-card berth.

What a difference seven months can make.

The Lions (5-10) play the Packers (6-8-1) at Green Bay at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Ending the season on a win is dandy but not all that important in the long run for either team.

Don’t tell that to the players, though.

“They’re a good football team. Anytime you go to Lambeau Field, it’s a big challenge. I think they’re a talented, young football team and we’ll have our work cut out for us,’’ quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “Obviously, Aaron (Rodgers) is doing a great job this year playing at a high level and scoring a bunch of points. As an offense, that’s a big challenge for us, knowing that we’re going to have to go out there and score some points. And then obviously, a big challenge for our defense anytime you’re facing a guy like Aaron and a team like that.”

Five things to watch on Sunday:

1. Stafford has been limited in practice for a few weeks with a bad back, but was a full go this week. It’s been a tough season for the quarterback who is in his 10th season. “I just wish we won more games, that’s the biggest thing. I’m fighting for these guys in this locker room. The guys are working to try and win every Sunday,’’ Stafford said. “When you don’t win, everybody feels it. We wish we could and are doing everything we can to try and win, we just haven’t done it enough this season. So, that’s tough to swallow.”

2. The Lions have gotten some quality run production out of Zach Zenner in recent weeks. Give him the ball, let him show what he can do. LeGarrette Blount has been good in spurts but not consistent. Offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter takes pride in the fact that they have improved the run game this year. “We kind of came into the year saying, ‘Boy, we have to run the ball better. We have to run the ball more effectively.’ We made a big point of emphasis on that, and by and large, I think we did a lot of those things,’’ Cooter said. “Not that it’s a done deal at this point, but I think we made some strides running, blocking, all those things.’’

3. Green Bay wide receiver Davante Adams is expected to play despite being on the injured list this week. He burnt Detroit’s defense for 140 receiving yards and a touchdown in the first game against the Packers. Expect Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay to be prepared, but he could have his hands full with the Pro Bowl wide receiver.

4. The Lions pass rush has been mostly anemic all season, but they did sack Rodgers four times in the first game. Pressure is key on Rodgers who has had a good season statistically, but just hasn’t been able to pull out the wins on his own. Amazingly he’s thrown just two interceptions while tossing 25 touchdowns and 4.416 yards.

5. It’s a nothing game but it’s one of just 16 so the Lions should be prepared. Some weeks it looks like they are, some weeks not. The Lions and Packers played on Oct. 7 so it’s not like they don’t know what to expect. The Lions won that one 31-23 at home. HIstorically Detroit has been lousy at Green Bay where they are 12-32-3 at Lambeau Field.

PREDICTION: Packers 24, Lions 16