DETROIT -- If the Detroit Lions are going to make any mid-season changes to the coaching staff, it would likely occur immediately after the team's trip to London next week.
After London is Detroit's bye, which offers an additional seven days to make a transition. Ask the Miami Dolphins, who dumped coach Joe Philbin the day the team returned home from their overseas trip earlier this season.
It's a small sample size, but the move appears to have ignited the Dolphins. The team has won back-to-back games under new coach Dan Campbell, outscoring opponents, 82-36.
Asked if he felt he'll be playing for the jobs of his coaches next week against the Kansas City Chiefs, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford said his priorities remain the same.
"Every time I step out there, I feel like I'm playing not only for myself, but for the whole team, the organization," Stafford said. "That's the way I approach it week to week. I'm just going to go out there and keep giving it the kind of effort I've given it the whole year."
Wide receiver Golden Tate, who is in his second year with Detroit, also isn't focused on the employment of the coaches or members of the team's front office. He understands he has no control over those decisions. He's more worried about continuing to justify his own employment with the organization.
"I'm going out there playing juts to get the win," Tate said. "I hope I come back on this plane, still with the team. That's the only thing I can control. I don't know what's going on upstairs or in the organization. I just want to win. That's all I care about."
Tate's production has dipped this season and he's coming off another disappointing outing in the team's 28-19 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. He caught just two of the six passes thrown his direction for 14 yards. That's his lowest output since Dec. 9, 2012.
Tate also dropped a pass for the fourth time in three weeks, an issue that hasn't typically plagued him during his career.
"That's frustrating," Tate said. "It's uncharacteristic. I need to do some things better, obviously, to make sure that doesn't happen. I believe any ball that touches my hands is a good ball."
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