On Wednesday, the Detroit Lions announced that they hired Deshea Townsend as their passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach, Terrell Williams as their defensive line coach and run game coordinator and Jim O’Neil as a defensive assistant. That final move, in particular, is interesting — considering what else is going on in the NFC North.
Both O’Neil and new Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley coached at the University of Albany early on in their careers, O’Neil as an assistant offensive line and tight ends coach in 2001 and Hafley as a defensive assistant from 2002-2005.