The decision almost certainly won't belong to Darrell Bevell, even if he's set to interview on Tuesday for the Lions' head coaching vacancy. But if it did, would Bevell want to keep Matthew Stafford as his quarterback?
“Yes I would," Bevell said Monday as he wrapped up his tenure as the team's interim head coach.
The next head coach and next GM will have to answer that question for themselves. Louis Riddick, who interviewed for the GM job last month, has already gone on record stating that he would also 'build around' Stafford. Others will likely prefer to build from the ground up.
Stafford has rarely been the problem in Detroit. He's also never been the solution. The Lions have zero division titles and zero playoff wins in his 12-year tenure. Bevell, Detroit's offensive coordinator the last two seasons over which time the team went 8-15-1 with No. 9 under center, is of the belief that Stafford could change that with the right supporting cast.
“I would love nothing more than for Matthew to be able to get in that place to be able to play in all those meaningful games. I think he deserves it. I think he works at it. I think he is talented enough to do that. If you have a good team around him, he can most definitely lead you to a championship," Bevell said.
These questions go both ways. It's not just the Lions and the next regime who must determine if they can ever win with Stafford. It's Stafford who has to decide if he can ever win with the Lions. His longtime friend and former teammate Dan Orlovsky has already called for Detroit to set Stafford free.
"I think you’ve got to look at that (decision) from a lot of different perspectives," Bevell said. "Are you looking at it from the club’s perspective? Are you looking at it from his perspective? Are you looking at it from my perspective? There’s so many ways to look at it.
"I can tell you this: I love Matthew Stafford. I think he’s a heck of a quarterback. He’s in the upper group in the league in terms of that position. I think it’s the most important position on the field. If you don’t have one of those guys, you’re going to struggle for a long time. I think he’s a very, very good one and I think he’s been in that position for a long time. From my perspective, it’s been a great two years working with him, and I would love to continue that.”
It's safe to say Stafford would, too. His 99.8 passer rating the past two seasons under Bevell is the best two-year stretch of his career. Bevell, again, is unlikely to land the job he's interviewing for on Tuesday, with the Lions set to interview a host of hot names in the coaching ranks starting later this week. But maybe he'd entertain the idea of returning as offensive coordinator.
"I’ve loved my time here," he said. "I enjoy it. I think there’s great people in this organization. Speak to Matthew or any of these other people that are in this organization that are here every day putting their all in it. Everybody wants a winner to be here, and everybody is kind of fighting for that same thing. I just want to be a part of that.
"I know Rod (Wood) wants it, I know Sheila (Ford Hamp) wants it. That’s what we’re looking forward to, is building a winner here in Detroit, and nothing would make me happier than to be able to be a part of that.”