So it was a Tischler Tuesday for BMitch & Finlay, as always, and when Mitch stopped by, some discussion turned to the report that Lions OC Ben Johnson is likely to bring Detroit’s offensive line coach, Hank Fraley, with him as his offense coordinator wherever he lands as a head coach.
JP Finlay thinks Johnson is coming here, and it it’s DC and the report is true, that’s cool for Fraley, who is a Gaithersburg native, and it’s cool for BMitch, who played with Fraley in Philly.
And, apparently, it’s going to be great for the fans, because Old Man Yelling At Cloud alert: Brian knows that unlike what happened with EB, if players have issue with Fraley’s work ethic, they ain’t staying.
“What I love about that is you have an O-lineman, tough guy, undrafted guy, earned everything he got,” JP said, “and the Lions have an identity of ‘we’re gonna try to kick your ass.’ Maybe that starts with Dan Campbell, but Fraley’s tough. He started 15 games as a rookie on a playoff team!”
“Hank’s smart and tough; he came in with not as much talent as everyone else, but he was a fighter who would go after you,” BMitch replied. “Hank could be that bad cop for Ben Johnson. I messed with him a lot, and he was able to take it and give it back. I could see anybody that did not want to work, him telling them to get their ‘s’ and start walking.”“
Johnson can’t interview in person until Monday anyway, so it’s going to be a bit until this is all resolved – and, yeah, Tischler doesn’t think that’s anything to be worried about.
“Entirely unconcerned. From the beginning we knew this was going to have to be a patient search with a wide-ranging view, and the fact that some of the top candidates are still in the playoffs means there’s not much they can do unless they want to settle,” Tischler said. “They’re doing it the right way, and I’m happy to wait for all of the candidates to be available in person for them to be their due diligence. If they get shut out of those guys and have to go back into the mix, maybe it will be something to be a little concerned about, but I think with the Adam Peters signing, you gave a signal to the NFL of how folks are looking at this franchise.”
Oh, and there’s no reason for people to be upset, concerned, worried, or anything else that Bieniemy actually got an interview, knowing perhaps it doesn’t satisfy Rooney Rule requirements.
“There’s no one that knows more about the current roster and the players than Eric, who spent the entire year here in a leadership role,” Tischler said. “I hope he spent hours with Adam Peters and company and they grilled him about everybody he had a read on.”
“And make sure they find out everybody who complained about working, and let them go too!” BMitch replied.
B gonna B, but you can listen to it all above!
