Peyton Manning was asked about Lions offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter at the Super Bowl. Manning talked glowingly about his former offensive assistant coach in Indianapolis and Denver.
Callahan and Manning (Photo: AP Images)
In that same breath, Manning also mentioned current offensive assistant coach Brian Callahan and his bright future in coaching.
"Brian Callahan is going to be a top-flight quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator, maybe head coach like his dad (Bill) at some point in the near future," Manning said.
Manning said both Cooter and Callahan did the "grunt work" to give him special insights into how defenses will try to attack him. Both were sticklers on details that Manning said made all the difference for him.
Cooter and Callahan worked together in Denver as offensive assistants in 2013.
The two are teaming up once again. The Lions hired Callahan to be the new quarterbacks coach in Detroit.
Callahan spent his sixth season with the Super Bowl winning Broncos in 2015, serving as an offensive assistant with additional responsibilities helping coach the club's quarterbacks.
He has nine total years of coaching experience, including two seasons at UCLA following his playing career at the school as a quarterback.
As an offensive assistant in 2014, he helped Denver's offense rank fourth in the NFL in total offense (402.9 ypg) and second in scoring offense (30.1 ppg).
Callahan also assisted with an offense in 2013, along with Cooter, that set the NFL single-season record for points scored (606) and touchdown passes (55).
Callahan inherits quarterback Matthew Stafford, who was terrific the second half of last season (19 TDs vs. 2 INTs), but has been fairly inconsistent over his seven NFL seasons.
Callahan's father, Bill, is the offensive line coach for the Washington Redskins and has served as the head coach for the Oakland Raiders and the University of Nebraska.
