Pride of Detroit
Exploring coaches the Lions could consider for their open defensive coordinator position.
The Detroit Lions will be looking for new offensive and defensive coordinators in 2025, as Ben Johnson accepted a head coaching job with the Chicago Bears, and most recently, it’s been announced that Aaron Glenn has accepted a head coaching position with the New York Jets.
When Johnson exited, we identified 12 offensive coordinator candidates for the Lions to consider, and now with Glenn also on the move, we’ve compiled a list of candidates the Lions should consider for their vacated defensive coordinator position.
While Lions coach Dan Campbell has a very clear set of parameters that he desires in a new offensive coordinator, he was also very adamant about wanting the core philosophies on defense intact.
“I don’t see philosophy changing,” Campbell noted. “I think what we are is what we are, and we’ve been that way since I’ve been here. So, does that mean a couple of things get tweaked? A couple of things will get tweaked, just the nature of new coordinators [...] I want to play man (coverage)—we want to play man. I’m going to pressure a little bit. So, these things are not going to go away, we are what we are.”
With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at some coaches who should be considered candidates for the Lions' open defensive coordinator position.
Note: Two coaches, with ties to Campbell, who would have been on my list have already taken defensive coordinator jobs with other teams: the Patriots hired Lions DL coach Terrell Williams and the Colts hired former Bengals DC Lou Anarumo.
Lions linebackers coach
The coach many consider the frontrunner for the job, Sheppard has been with Campbell’s staff since the beginning of his tenure with the Lions and has been building toward the next step in his career.
An eight-year NFL linebacker who finished his career in Detroit, Sheppard joined the Lions as a coach in 2021 and quickly asserted himself as one of the smartest minds on the Lions defensive staff. With a no-nonsense approach to coaching that rewards players for how they produce on the field, Sheppard has earned the trust of players and coaches over the past four years.
In the Lions scheme, the linebackers are trusted with understanding all aspects of the defensive scheme/play call and will make necessary adjustments on the field as they see fit. They must work in unison with the defensive line when stopping the run/rushing the passer, while also working seamlessly with the secondary in coverage. Sheppard has done a masterful job of making sure his linebackers are fully prepared and embrace these challenges.
“Having Shep there with me, he’s been there from the beginning, and he knows exactly how I think–-exactly,” Glenn said of Sheppard in December. “And that’s a guy that I’ve been actually mentoring to be in the DC role at some point. I think he’s damn near close,...
