Former Cowboys Coach Predicts Bold Offseason Shakeup for Detroit Lions

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Former Cowboys coach Jason Garrett weighs in on Detroit’s offseason plans.

The Detroit Lions will have some changes in store for their fans as they work to get back to the status that helped them take home two consecutive NFC North Division titles along with two straight postseason appearances before those streaks came to an unfortunate halt this past season.

Perhaps the biggest area of need for the Lions to address this offseason is their offense line, and in the mind of former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett, that’s what GM Brad Holmes will focus on the most.

“I just think they have to,” Garrett said last week. “I mean, to me, when they were really rolling the last couple years, that was the strength of their team. They were able to run the football, control the line of scrimmage, then all of a sudden the play-action passes come alive. All those special plays that they ran, it’s because they’re winning the line of scrimmage. And I think they have to get back to that, and I think they understand that.”

Garrett, who was head coach of the Cowboys from 2010 to 2019, now works as a studio analyst and color commentator.

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The Detroit Lions Could Lose Veteran OT Taylor Decker

Following Detroit’s final regular season game in January against the Chicago Bears, veteran offensive tackle Taylor Decker hinted that he very well may have played his final snap in the NFL, though didn’t close the door completely.

“I told my wife this about a week and a half ago,” Decker said of his future plans. “You know how in those fantasy like medieval shows there’s like that old warrior and he just wants to die in battle? I feel like that’s how I feel, but I can’t. I can’t do that because it’s not just me. It doesn’t just affect me. Hypothetically speaking about it. And that makes it harder. That makes it so much harder because I know I can still play, but what is that going to make the future of my family look like? And my future?”

If Decker were to retire, it would represent the latest major loss on the offensive line following last year’s retirement of Frank Ragnow. Ragnow did attempt an ill-fated comeback that fell short because of a failed physical that revealed a severe hamstring injury.
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Lions GM Brad Holmes Does Not Believe The Offensive Line Has Been Ignored

For fans who believe that GM Brad Holmes has neglected the offensive line, he pushed back on that notion during his end-of-season press conference last month.

“The offensive line as a whole, it hasn’t been ignored,” Holmes said. “We’ve drafted in 2021 and then (in) 2022 we didn’t, but 2023 we went late. You’d be surprised about the moves that we tried to do that we could not get done that involved offensive linemen, whether that be draft or free agency. But it hasn’t been ignored. We tried to do the best we can. I was excited about the youth injection that we did go with. I think it was necessary.”

Michael Whitaker Michael Whitaker is a sports journalist based in metro Detroit with nearly a full decade of experience with publications like Clutch Points and The Hockey News. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from Eastern Michigan University. More about Michael Whitaker