Bevell's offenses have been a mix of everything from ground-and-pound to west coast to throwing the ball around a lot when he was with Green Bay and Minnesota early in his coaching career. His ability to mix a little bit of everything into his offense is one of the things that attracted the Lions to him.

"He makes concepts simple and easy," Robinson said of Bevell. "And he can adjust to just about any personnel. I like the hire for Detroit."

The run game has been a big part of Bevell's offenses, especially in his last stop in Seattle. Robinson attributed that, in part, to having Marshawn Lynch in the backfield, but said Detroit was a perfect landing spot for him with GM Bob Quinn and Patricia's mandate to be balanced on offense.

Bevell's offenses have finished in the top 10 in rushing percentage eight times in his 12 years as an OC. During a four-year stretch between 2012 and 2015 as Seattle's OC, his offense was top 10 in scoring each year and ranked in the top four in rushing.

But Robinson also thinks Stafford and the passing game will benefit from more balance. The two quarterbacks Bevell is best known for working with are Brett Favre and Russell Wilson. Both enjoyed career seasons under Bevell.

Favre had one of his finest statistical seasons in 2009 with the Vikings. He completed 68 percent of his passes for 4,202 yards (7.9 average) with 33 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. His 107.2 passer rating that season was the only time in Favre's career he finished a season with a rating over 100.0.

The 2015 season saw Wilson throw for over 4,000 yards (4,024) for the first time in his career with 34 touchdowns and just eight interceptions for a then career high 110.1 passer rating.