'Phenomenal' Cooter too valuable for Lions to let go

Teryl Austin spent part of January crisscrossing the country, interviewing for head coaching jobs from Buffalo to San Francisco, all with the Detroit Lions' blessing.

The Lions couldn't prevent Austin from taking interviews, per NFL rules, and part of the organization certainly wanted their defensive coordinator to land a promotion.

But when the chance came for quarterbacks coach Jim Bob Cooter to interview for an offensive coordinator position with the Chicago Bears, the Lions blocked the request.

General manager Martin Mayhew declined to get into the specifics of why the Lions wouldn't let Cooter interview in Chicago, but he said last week at the NFL combine that "just about everything goes into" decisions like that.

"You got to look at that coach's role on your team," Mayhew said. "You've got to look at the contribution that coach makes, you've got to look at who's making that request, how hard it is to replace that coach. There are a number of factors that you have to consider in those situations."

Certainly, the fact that the Cooter was interviewing with a division rival and for a job he wasn't assured of landing played a big role. Two years ago, the Lions let special teams coordinator Danny Crossman make a lateral move to work with his close friend Doug Marrone with the Buffalo Bills, whom the Lions play once every four years.

But the 30-year-old Cooter, who spent one season working on new Bears coach John Fox's staff with the Denver Broncos, is well respected across the league and for the work he did with the Lions last year.

"He's a phenomenal quarterbacks coach," Mayhew said. "He's been around great quarterbacks, he played the position himself, he's a great teacher. He has an understanding of what coach (Jim) Caldwell wants taught. He's got a great relationship with those guys in that room. Very knowledgeable coach. Great guy to be around.

"I really enjoy talking with him and I think he's a good evaluator when it comes to quarterbacks. He knows what he's talking about. He's seen a lot of good quarterbacks. When we bring guys to the table and talk to him about those guys, he has a really good reference point, being around Peyton Manning and guys like that. He knows what he's looking for and what fits. I think he has a very bright future."

While Cooter is under a cone of silence placed on him and other assistants by the organization, Mayhew said that he doesn't worry about alienating a coach by not letting him interview elsewhere.

"We had a coach here awhile back who only did one-year contracts because he figured, 'If I get another opportunity, I don't want to be held back from taking the opportunity,'" Mayhew said. "So that option's always open. But it's kind of hard to have your cake and eat it, too. You can't have security of a long-term deal but then have the flexibility to go wherever you want to go."

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.