Originally Posted by
texaschief
Source: Lions were refused permission to talk to Gunther Cunningham
by Tom Kowalski
Tuesday January 20, 2009, 4:17 PM
MOBILE, Ala. -- According to a league source, the Lions were initially refused permission to talk to Kansas City defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham about taking the same position with Detroit.
The Chiefs might be in a transition period with new general manager Scott Pioli deciding the fate of head coach Herm Edwards. According to the source, the Lions are waiting to see if the Chiefs will eventually grant Cunningham permission to talk to the Lions.
Lions head coach Jim Schwartz, who said he was going to take his time in putting together a staff, coached for three years with Cunningham when they were both with the Tennessee Titans. Schwartz has been busy at the Senior Bowl interviewing candidates for coordinator and assistant coaching jobs but, so far, no job has been filled.
Schwartz is expected to return to Detroit Wednesday evening and that's when he's expected to also interview many members of the Lions' current staff. Those Detroit coaches, who are all at the Senior Bowl, have been granted permission to seek jobs with other teams, but Schwartz reserves the right to refuse any possible deal and keep that coach with the Lions.
"Everything's just kind of up in the air,'' said one of Detroit's assistants.
"I'm optimistic and I'd like to stay in Detroit. We'll see what happens,'' said another assistant.
