Reports: Lions losing former interim coach Darrell Bevell to Jaguars

Darrell Bevell is on the move. The former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator and interim head coach is heading to Jacksonville, where he will serve as Urban Meyer's offensive coordinator, according to multiple reports. 

Bevell, who previously coordinated offenses in Minnesota and Seattle, joined the Lions in 2018 after a year out of football. Quarterback Matthew Stafford thrived in Bevell's offense, posting some of the best numbers of his career before a back injury ending his season after eight games. 

The offense battled even more injuries this past season, with star receiver Kenny Golladay missing 11 games, rookie running back D'Andre Swift sidelined three, and a steady stream of absences along the offensive line. 

Still, when the Lions fired coach Matt Patricia after the Thanksgiving game, they turned to Bevell to lead the franchise the remainder of the way. The team won their first game with him at the helm, besting the Bears on the road, before dropping four straight to end the year. 

Bevell, along with four other coaches, missed a game late in the season after one assistant tested positive for the COVID-19 virus and the others were deemed high-risk close contacts requiring a five-day quarantine. 

The Lions ended up finishing in the middle of the pack in both yardage and points. 

In Jacksonville, Bevell will take over an offense that was among the league's worst, but is expected to grab a quarterback, presumably Clemson's Trevor Lawrence, with the first pick of the upcoming draft. 

In addition to Lawrence, Bevell will inherit workhorse running back James Robinson, who rushed for 1,070 yards as an undrafted rookie in 2020, as well a talented trio of young receivers in D.J. Chark, Keelan Cole and Laviska Shenault. 

New Lions coach Dan Campbell is currently searching for a new offensive coordinator. According to reports, he already has talked to Baltimore Ravens quarterback coach James Urban and Steelers wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard. 

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter: justin_rogers