A couple of weeks after the Detroit Lions agreed to allow running backs coach Duce Staley to make a lateral move to join Frank Reich’s staff in Carolina, the team is losing a second assistant to the Panthers. On Thursday evening, the team announced the hiring of Lions defensive line coach Todd Wash.
Wash spent two seasons with Detroit. As the team did prior to his arrival, Detroit’s defensive front struggled to affect the quarterback in 2021. The team generated 30 sacks that season, which tied for 30th in the NFL, while simultaneously producing a pressure rate that ranked 29th.
The highlight from that season was the breakout performance of former first-round pick Charles Harris, who recorded a career-high 7.5 sacks to lead the team.
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Wash was provided reinforcements in 2022 in the form of rookies Aidan Hutchinson, Josh Paschal and James Houston. The team’s first-year players went on to combine for 19.5 sacks, setting an NFL team record for rookies. That fueled the overall improvement with Detroit’s pass rush, which finished with nine more sacks than the previous season and checked in ninth in pressure rate.
In Carolina, Wash will be part of a staff that has a heavy Lions influence. In addition to Staley, former Lions quarterback Josh McCown is coaching the position he played for Reich, while Dom Capers will be serving as a senior defensive assistant, a role he held with the Lions in 2021.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers