Caldwell Surprised Teryl Austin Did Not Get Head Coaching Job This Offseason
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
CBS DETROIT - In 2014 the Detroit Lions established themselves as one of the best defensive teams in the NFL, and head coach Jim Caldwell knew that meant he could lose his defensive coordinator Teryl Austin after only one season. In fact, Caldwell expected that would happen.
"I was surprised he didn't get one this time, to be honest with you," Caldwell said Thursday at the NFL combine. "I would anticipate that he's going to get an opportunity here within the next couple years."
A first-time NFL coordinator in 2014, Austin was a finalist for the head coaching vacancy of the Atlanta Falcons. He also interviewed with the Buffalo Bills, the San Francisco 49ers and the Chicago Bears, and he also had interest from the Denver Broncos.
Austin likely received more notice than he would have otherwise since the Lions won 11 games and went to the playoffs. With a group of veteran players - particularly defensive linemen - on the cusp of free agency, the defense made life rough for opposing offenses, allowing on average only 300.9 yards per game and only 17.6 points per game.
"It was certainly a situation where we wanted him to get an opportunity in the National Football League as a head coach, and I think that's forthcoming, but we're also certainly happy to have him back as well," Caldwell said. "He's certainly a very, very important factor in terms of what we do from a defensive standpoint, so he's back with us, energized, ready to go, and we're excited about that.
"He has, obviously, a very, very resourceful mind, does a great job in terms of communicating, he's a very, very special breed and just an unusual guy," Caldwell added. "Usually in your first year, you're going to run into a bunch of issues and problems with communication and learning and development and all those kinds of things. Our staff was able to overcome a lot of that, and I think that's because of his leadership and the other guys that we have on the staff as well."
Caldwell believes outside interest in Austin will remain high even if the Lions do not perform as well next season. A dip in the production of the defense would hardly be surprising given that defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh, Nick Fairley, C.J. Mosley and Andre Fluellen and defensive ends George Johnson and Darryl Tapp are all free agents and may not return to the Lions in 2015.
Even if Suh comes back, the Detroit defense will not look the same. It will be difficult for the defense to make Austin look as good in 2015 as it made him look last season.
Caldwell does not expect the Lions to take a step back this year, but if they do, he does not think that will make Austin any less attractive to teams seeking a new head coach.
"There's a number of different situations you can look at," Caldwell said. "You've seen some where it certainly has had an effect; you've seen others where it had minimal effect, and so in his particular case, I think he supersedes anything that could happen in that regard because he's been – a number of teams now have been exposed to him, had an opportunity to kind of see his work, but I don't anticipate a dip in terms of performance, either, for our team.
"I think he'll do a great job in that area," Caldwell added, "and I also think at some point in time he'll get a head coaching job as well."
