Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase, who was a finalist for the 49ers' head coaching job a year ago, will be a hot candidate again this January, and league sources said he is of particular interest to the Detroit Lions. Gase, who began his pro career with Detroit, remains close to several members of the Lions' front office. He would be interested in coaching in Detroit and is held in high esteem by former NFL general manager Ernie Acorsi, who is consulting for the team on potential GM and coach hires. While the Lions will not finalize a decision on the fate of coach Jim Caldwell until after the season, Gase will be a top target should Caldwell not return.
Gase, who served on the staffs of Steve Mariucci and Rod Marinelli when he entered the NFL more than a decade ago, is viewed as a quarterback guru who is doing exceptional work with Jay Cutler this season and could be a strong influence on Lions starter Matt Stafford. The opportunity to work with Stafford would be attractive to Gase, sources said, and Gase is close with recently-promoted Lions offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, with the pair working together in Denver in 2013. Cooter is quickly earning a strong reputation among Lions officials for his work with Stafford, and he has already worked under Gase should the franchise want to retain certain members of this staff.
Gase also has strong personal and working relationships with members of the Lions front office -- individuals that ownership could already be inclined to retain. Gase is a Michigan native who began his coaching life as a grad assistant at Michigan State, and his father-in-law, Joe Vitt, spent his early years in the NFL with Acorsi on the staff of the Baltimore Colts. Should the Ford family opt to part with head coach Jim Caldwell in a year in which they have already begun an extensive purge, Gase will be given heavy consideration for the position, sources said.
