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The Detroit Lions earned the top seed in the NFC with a 15-2 record in 2024. However, the Lions’ season ended in disappointment after a divisional round loss to the Washington Commanders. Now Detroit faces an uncertain future as the team is forced to replace its offensive and defensive coordinators.
The Lions’ boasted one of the best coaching staffs in the league with Ben Johnson leading the offense and Aaron Glenn running the defense. But Detroit has become a victim of its own success as both coordinators have left the team for head coaching opportunities elsewhere.
Lions’ head coach Dan Campbell has turned his attention to replenishing his coaching staff. While replacing Johnson and Glenn is no small feat, Campbell is embracing the challenge. And he began his search for a new defensive coordinator by reaching out to Larry Foote, according to Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz on X.
Foote just finished his third season as the inside linebackers coach and pass game coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He joined the organization as the outside linebackers coach in 2019.
However, Foote is best known for his time as a linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played 11 seasons in Pittsburgh and won two Super Bowl rings with the team. Foote then earned a third ring in 2020 as a coach with the Tom Brady-led Bucs.
The Lions have become one of the best teams in football under Campbell’s leadership. The team won back-to-back division titles and advanced to the NFC Championship Game last season. But Johnson departed for the Chicago Bears and the New York Jets hired Glenn as their head coach, leaving Campbell with some big shoes to fill.
Unfortunately for Detroit, the bleeding may not stop with the loss of the coordinators. The team could lose additional coaches that follow the former OC and DC to their new gigs. Glenn could take Lions’ quarterbacks coach Mark Brunell to New York. And it’s possible he could also scoop up linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard.
Those losses would remove potential offensive and defensive coordinator candidates from Detroit, making it difficult for the organization to promote from within. Johnson, who is rumored to already be the seventh-highest paid head coach in the league after signing with the Bears, could poach coaches from the Lions’ staff as well. And Patriots’ coach Mike Vrabel could hire Detroit’s defensive line coach Terrell Williams.
With so many Lions’ coaches potentially headed out of Detroit, Campbell has to look outside of the organization for replacements. Foote has 10 years of coaching experience after getting his start as an assistant linebackers coach with the Arizona Cardinals in 2015. And while he spent the majority of his career with the Steelers, Foote does have a Detroit connection. He played for the Lions in 2009 before heading back to Pittsburgh the following season.
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