Lions new special teams guru Joe Marciano makes rousing intro

Detroit — New special teams coordinator Joe Marciano introduced himself to Lions fans for the first time during Tuesday's annual town hall with season ticket holders and endeared himself to many of the football lovers in the crowd.

After spending 12 years with the Houston Texans, Marciano filled in for suspended Vikings special teams coach Mike Priefer at the start of 2013 before taking the rest of the year off.

"I had several other opportunities and it didn't feel like it was right and decided not to go back to work," he told the crowd. "Obviously when coach (Jim) Caldwell called, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to go back to work.

"I felt this team was playoff ready, and I wanted to be a part of it. And I want to help us to kick off and kick (butt)."

Caldwell has put an emphasis on special teams, Marciano said, and the Lions consider contributions in the third phase when they construct their roster.

Marciano later explained exactly how he plans to elevate a Lions special teams unit that produced mixed results last year, hoping to mold the players besides the kicker, punter and long snapper into a cohesive unit. His goal is to have a group that can be "fast, furious and finish."

"My thrill in coaching special teams is to get the other 10 guys — the who's-nuts guys," he said. "The guys that are coming in from college, mold those guys into a unit, and they're the kind of guys I like to coach. They could be all minimum-wage guys — I don't care — but that's the beauty of coaching special teams."

Marciano is familiar with Lions punter Sam Martin after scouting him at Appalachian State. When he was with the Texans, Marciano said he targeted Martin as a potential undrafted free agent, but the Lions drafted him in the fifth round in 2013.

The coach also knows kicker Matt Prater well having coached so long in the AFC and called him clutch, noting his 54 of 58 mark on fourth-quarter field goals and 4 of 4 mark in overtime. The Lions also re-signed long-snapper Don Muhlbach this offseason for his 12th NFL season.

The other spot, though, remains up in the air. Lions returner Jeremy Ross struggled last season, failing to make more than a few splash plays on kickoffs or punts. Marciano said he could've had better results with better blocking, but didn't commit to Ross as the returner for 2015.

"I don't think we've got to worry about our kicker, our punter, our snapper," he said. "We'll make the returner position very competitive, and I can't wait to get those who's-nuts guys."

jkatzenstein@detroitnews.com

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