19735379-mmmain.jpg

New Lions quarterback coach Brian Callahan spent the past six years in Denver, four of which were spent working closely with Peyton Manning.

(AP File Photo)

The Detroit Lions are not hiding their interest in drafting a quarterback. They are criss-crossing the country looking for a prospect to develop behind Matthew Stafford.

And that means Brian Callahan, their new quarterback coach, is a very busy man these days.

But by all accounts, he's fully capable -- even earning the elusive praise of Peyton Manning, one of the most demanding men in the game.

"Brian Callahan is going to be a top-flight quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator, maybe head coach like his dad (Bill) at some point in the near future," Manning said during Super Bowl week.

The Lions hired Callahan to replace Jim Bob Cooter as quarterback coach not long after Manning made those comments. Head coach Jim Caldwell made the move, despite having no previous ties to Callahan.

Caldwell has typically preferred surrounding himself with people he knows in Detroit. But he does have some indirect ties to Callahan, who spent the past six years as an offensive assistant with the Denver Broncos.

That includes via Cooter, who worked with Callahan while serving as Denver's quarterback coach in 2013. And, of course, that includes Manning, who spent almost a decade with Caldwell in Indianapolis before spending the past four years with Callahan in Denver.

"He certainly worked with a lot of people I have a lot of faith in," Caldwell said.

Callahan basically filled Cooter's old role in Denver the past couple years, scouting defenses and identifying tendencies for Manning. His primary job in Detroit will be continuing the development of starting quarterback Matthew Stafford, who emerged from a year-and-a-half nosedive during a red-hot finish to last season.

Stafford completed 70 percent of his passes during that stretch, with 19 touchdowns and just two interceptions. Detroit went 6-2. And it will be Callahan's job to help ensure that trajectory continues upward in 2016.

"He's worked within a similar scheme of what we're putting in, and he has a real good understanding of it," Caldwell said. "He's seen a portion of it through an evolution (and) I think his observations and understanding of it will certainly help us.

"He's very good at what he does."

But for now, with the draft quickly approaching, Callahan is consumed with scouting what this year's class has to offer.

That includes meeting with UMass QB Blake Frohnapfel, after the Minutemen's pro day up in Amherst, Mass. He also flew out to meet with Liberty's Josh Woodrum a week after that school's pro day in Lynchburg, Va.

Callahan also met with scores of quarterbacks at the combine in Indianapolis, including Stanford's Kevin Hogan, a mid- to late-round prospect who matriculated from a pro-style offense and could make sense for Detroit.

-- Download the Detroit Lions MLive app for iPhone and Android

-- Follow MLive Sports on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram