The Detroit Lions have gone through a brain drain within the coaching staff in the aftermath of their season-ending loss to the Washington Commanders in the divisional round. Since that defeat, Ben Johnson has been hired as the head coach of the Chicago Bears and Aaron Glenn has inked a deal to lead the New York Jets, leaving Dan Campbell without both coordinators. Well, he has since filled one of those vacancies by promoting from within.
Kelvin Sheppard, who has previously served as the Lions linebackers coach, has now been elevated to defensive coordinator on Campbell's staff, succeeding Glenn, according to NFL Media.
This is a rather quick rise through the coaching ranks for Sheppard, who just finished up his fourth season coaching in the NFL, all of which have come with the Lions. It also wasn't too long ago that Sheppard was playing in the league, last suiting up for the Lions in 2018. The 37-year-old spent eight seasons in the NFL across various organizations, including the Buffalo Bills who drafted him in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft out of LSU.
Going in-house for at least one of these coordinator vacancies seemed to be a realistic option for Campbell, who said this week that he believes "we've got guys on staff that I think are more than qualified and would be outstanding in those roles." However, he also acknowledged the possibility of an outside hire, which could still be on the table to replace Johnson as offensive coordinator.
Sheppard has some big shoes to fill in replacing Glenn, who had the Lions defense playing well throughout his tenure. This season, Detroit allowed 20.1 points per game, which was the seventh-fewest in the NFL. They also racked up 24 takeaways, which ranked ninth in the league. That said, Shepard has shown promise. In 2024, he had the linebacker group playing at a high level, led by Alex Anzalone and Jack Campbell. Now, he'll have his fingerprints across more areas of the defense, while Campbell continues to search for his newest offensive coordinator over the next few weeks.