Lions fire special teams coach Joe Marciano

The Detroit Lions announced Monday night that special teams coordinator Joe Marciano has been relieved of his duties following Sunday's 24-9 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. "Tonight, I spoke to Joe and informed him of my decision to relieve him of his responsibilities with our team. I appreciate Joe's leadership of our special teams units over the last three and a half seasons and have great respect for his many years of service as a coach in the National Football League," Lions coach Matt Patricia said in a statement. "On behalf of our team and the entire coaching staff, I want to personally thank Joe for his commitment to the Detroit Lions and wish him and his family the best moving forward." The Lions committed several special teams miscues on Sunday, starting on the first play. Kicker Sam Martin slipped on the opening kickoff and squibbed a ball that Minnesota returned to the 35-yard line and they were soon in field-goal range. Late in the first half, the Vikings forced a punt and Marcus Sherels returned the 39-yard kick by Sam Martin 24 yards to the Minnesota 48. The Vikings kicked a field goal to up the score to 17-6 at intermission. On the plus side, Matt Prater was 3-for-3 on field goals and the Lions converted a fake punt. Detroit has allowed one punt-return touchdown and have been penalized 14 times on special teams, including three times yesterday. Opponents are averaging a league-high 20.6 yards per punt return against the Lions this year. Marciano, who was hired by former coach Jim Caldwell in 2015, took responsibility for the unit's woes last month. "I just haven't done a good job," he told the Detroit Free Press at the time. "I've got to do a better job, to be honest with you." The Lions (3-5) fell to the bottom of the NFC North with their second straight loss. --QB Matt Stafford was sacked 10 times for 56 yards in Sunday's loss to the Vikings. Stafford, who was sacked a total of 13 times over the first seven games, completed 25 of 36 passes for 199 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. --K Matt Prater was perfect on three field-goal attempts in Sunday's loss to the Vikings. He accounted for all of Detroit's points with kicks of 35, 35 and 37 yards. --CB Darius Slay grabbed his second interception of the season in Sunday's loss, his eighth game of the season. He had eight picks last season. --WR Marvin Jones, Jr. had six catches for 66 yards on Sunday. He's on pace to approach his career high for receptions (65) set in 2015 with the Bengals. --RB Kerryon Johnson was held to 37 yards on 12 carries against the Vikings. His longest run of the day was for six yards.