Detroit Lions coach search FAQ: Here is where things stand right now

It has been a week since Jim Caldwell was fired as head coach, and the Lions' search for a replacement remains ongoing. So where do things stand now? And why the hold up when other teams are making hires?

Those questions and more answered below:

What's the latest with the Lions' search?

The Lions have interviewed six candidates for the job: New England Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, Houston Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel, Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, Green Bay Packers associate head coach Winston Moss and in-house candidates Teryl Austin and Jim Bob Cooter.

Patricia is the clear front-runner for the job and has been since Caldwell was fired on New Year's Day. He has a long history with Lions general manager Bob Quinn - the two spent 12 years working together in New England - and is widely respected for his work ethic and intelligence.

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Are there any other candidates for the job?

The Lions also requested permission to interview Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. It's unclear for now if that interview remains scheduled, but if it is, it won't take place until later in the week.

Wilks will reportedly interview Tuesday with the New York Giants, and Wednesday with the Arizona Cardinals. Most people across the league expect the Lions to hire Patricia, so Wilks may not want to spend his time interviewing for a job that he figures he has little chance to get.

Vrabel, who played for the Patriots, is the only other candidate I've heard seriously in the running for the job.

If everyone expects Patricia to be hired, why hasn't it happened yet?

NFL teams cannot hire a coach from another team, or even agree to hire that person, until his season is done. Here's the exact language from the league's tampering rules:

"No contract shall be executed, and no agreement to execute a contract, or an announcement of a contract or of an agreement for employment, shall be permitted until after the conclusion of the employer club’s playing season."

Now, that hasn't stopped teams from coming to wink-nod agreements with candidates in the past. Last year, the San Francisco 49ers hired offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan from the Atlanta Falcons, and Shanahan talked openly about his new job during the Super Bowl.

The Falcons, previously, did the same thing with Dan Quinn, when he made a Super Bowl run as a Seattle Seahawks assistant, and the Cleveland Browns years ago hired Romeo Crennel after a Patriots' Super Bowl win.

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Would the Lions really wait another month to make a hire?

Sure. The only real risk of waiting is for a coach to lose out on some of the assistant coaches he wants to hire for his staff, though most head-coaching candidates already have lined up the coaches they want to bring with them. Barring some crazy unforeseen circumstance, it's not like either the team or the candidate would back out of an agreement, especially in a case like this one where Quinn and Patricia know each other so well.

What if another team swoops in with a better offer?

Well, nothing is official yet, but these things tend to become pretty apparent, and I certainly expect that to happen with the Lions' job here in the next few days.

Already, two of the six teams with openings, the Oakland Raiders and Chicago Bears, have filled their jobs with candidates the Lions were not interested in (Jon Gruden and Matt Nagy). That leaves just three other jobs open: the New York Giants, Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts.

Patricia interviewed over the weekend with the Giants and Cardinals, so once those jobs come off the board, you can eliminate some of the competition.

When do you expect a hire to happen?

Feb. 5 seems like as good a day as any. That would be the day after the Super Bowl, and Patricia should be free by then.

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

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