DETROIT -- Even as Rod Marinelli awaits an answer from Mike Martz about the coordinator position, with a decision expected by Monday, the new Detroit Lions' head coach has begun assembling his offensive staff.
Marinelli has hired veteran offensive line coach Larry Beightol to preside over the club's porous blocking unit. After deliberating for a few days, Beightol, who had offers from a number of other teams as well, agreed to a two-year contract. The Lions have also hired Kippy Brown as their receivers coach.
Long regarded as one of the NFL's top offensive line assistants, Beightol served on the Green Bay Packers' staff the past seven seasons but was not retained by new head coach Mike McCarthy. Beightol, 63, is known for having physical and fundamentally sound line units and Marinelli was seeking an assistant who could instill those qualities in a unit that often appeared disjointed the last few seasons.
A 21-year NFL veteran, Beightol will be joining his eighth different team. In addition to his stint with the Packers, he worked with Atlanta (1985-86), Tampa Bay (1987-88), San Diego (1989), the New York Jets (1990-94), Houston (1995) and Miami (1996-98).
Brown, 50, will be joining his fifth NFL team, following stints with the Jets (1990-92), Tampa Bay (1995), Miami (1996-99), Green Bay (2000) and Houston (2002). He served as the head coach of the Memphis Maniax in the short-lived XFL in 2001 and was also interviewed for the Texans head coach vacancy earlier this month.
In addition to coaching wide receivers, Brown has coached running backs in the past.
It is believed that Martz was apprised by Marinelli of his intention to hire Beightol and Brown as offensive staffers. As first reported by ESPN's Chris Mortensen on Saturday evening, Martz is considering an offer to be the Lions' offensive coordinator. Earlier on Saturday, John Clayton of ESPN.com reported that Martz had removed his name from consideration for the Oakland Raiders' head coach post.
Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. To check out Len's chat archive, click here
.