The Detroit Lions have hired Mark Brunell as the quarterbacks coach, the first NFL coaching job for the 19-year-old veteran who last played in the league in 2011.
Brunell is expected to mentor the Lions’ first new full-time starting quarterback in more than a decade as Detroit seeks to trade Matthew Stafford, the team’s signal caller since 2009, after he and the franchise agreed on a split earlier this month. .
At least Brunell has the gaming experience to make it happen. He played most of his career in Jacksonville, starting 117 games in nine seasons from 1995. He entered the league in 1993 as the fifth-round pick of the Green Bay Packers.
It was in Jacksonville in 2003 and then with the New York Jets in 2010 and 2011 where he cruised to Detroit’s new offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn, who was the running backs coach at the time. In 2009, Brunell played for the New Orleans Saints during new Lions coach Dan Campbell’s senior year in the NFL. Brunell also played in Washington for three seasons.
Brunell played in 193 career games (151 starts), completing 59.5% of his passes for 32,072 yards, 184 touchdowns, and 108 interceptions. After retirement, Brunell was the head coach at Episcopal School in Jacksonville, Florida, a mentor to quarterbacks participating in the NFL draft and a radio host on WJXT in Jacksonville.
Detroit also announced the hiring of Duce Staley as assistant head coach / running backs coach – the same title he has held in Philadelphia since the 2018 season. Staley spent 10 seasons as a coach with the Eagles and worked his way up as a quality control coach for special teams after retiring from his 10-year NFL career.
Staley was interviewed for the job as the Eagles’ head coach after Doug Pederson was fired earlier this month.
Brunell and Staley are the newest Lions coaches to play in the NFL. Campbell played in the league for 10 years, Lynn seven, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn 15 and offensive line coach Hank Fraley 11.