NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport noted last weekend that Jim Caldwell impressed Lions brass by sitting down with quarterback Matthew Stafford during his interview for the open coaching job in Detroit.
According to Stafford, it won't be the last time he huddles with a potential candidate.
"It's something, however much they ask me to be a part of it, I'll be a part of it," Stafford told WJR-AM on Monday, per the Lions' official website. "I'm not knocking on the door. They asked me to sit in on that one, and as more and more interviews happen, whether I'm in town to sit with them and talk or whether we talk on the phone -- I'm sure I'll have some involvement in that process."
Stafford said his time with Caldwell, Baltimore's offensive coordinator, was less about picking apart his mechanics than unpacking what went down during Detroit's disappointing 2013 campaign.
"Honestly, it was just he and I sitting down and talking," Stafford said. "He told me he watched basically every play of our season. He picked my brain about our team, and I picked his about his philosophy in coaching and all that kind of stuff."
With Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt also looming as a top candidate, it only makes sense that the franchise quarterback is woven into the hiring process.
It certainly paid off for Jay Cutler, who grabbed face time with Marc Trestman before Chicago made him an offer. In Detroit, it's apparent the Lions are wisely hyper-focused on finding a tutor who can lift Stafford to the next level.
Nothing was more frustrating -- or baffling -- than watching Jim Schwartz wax poetic about Stafford's mechanics, refusing to acknowledge that his signal-caller needed fixing. Flush with talent, Stafford is the future in Detroit, but questions about his play are legitimate. Hiring a "quarterback whisperer" worked wonders for the Bears -- we expect the Lions to follow suit.
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