Lions quarterback Jared Goff will have a new offensive coordinator in 2025.
The Detroit Lions are intent on maintaining their recent dominance under head coach Dan Campbell in 2025 despite losing key coaches during the offseason.
Campbell had to pick new offensive (John Morton) and defensive coordinators (Kelvin Sheppard) in late January after Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn each departed to take head-coaching jobs — in Chicago and New York, respectively. He has also since added other position coaches and assistants, finding new leaders for a roster that will return most of the talent that won the NFC North and claimed the No. 1 playoff seed in 2024.
The hope is that Campbell, the Lions’ inspiring leader, has found the right coaches to keep his roster competitive in the NFC North and vying for a Super Bowl title in 2025, but there is a fair amount of skepticism about how his rebuilt staff will perform.
Before the Lions reconvene for training camp in July, here are three bold predictions about how the next several months will play out for the Lions during the 2025 season:
Jared Goff Will Regress After 2024 Pro Bowl Season
GettyLions quarterback Jared Goff.
Goff had an excellent 2024 season for the Lions, throwing for 4,629 yards and a career-high 37 touchdowns and touting the NFL’s second-best completion percentage (72.4%). His steady quarterback play was one of the main reasons why the Lions won 15 games and captured the division crown for a second straight season. He also finished fifth in the voting for the MVP award, highlighting just how valuable he was for their offense.
With Johnson no longer calling the plays, though, it remains to be seen how well Goff and Morton — a 55-year-old veteran coach — will mesh as a duo. Morton helped design an offense that unlocked rookie Bo Nix in 2024 as Denver’s pass game coordinator, but Goff is not nearly as mobile. He is also coming off an awful final performance for the Lions in last year’s playoffs, throwing three interceptions and completing less than 60% of his passes in a defeat that raised some questions about his long-term viability.
Even if Goff and Morton get on well, chances are strong that Goff will regress in 2025.
Aidan Hutchinson Will Win Comeback Player of the Year
GettyLions pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson.
The Lions had to achieve much of their success last season without having Hutchinson — their top pass rusher — on the field for their defense. While Hutchinson recorded 7.5 sacks in the Lions’ first five games, he broke his tibia and fibula bones in his left leg in Week 5’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, forcing him to miss the rest of the season.
Fortunately for the Lions, the 24-year-old Hutchinson will return as a supercharger for their defense in 2025 after doctors cleared him earlier in the spring. He will be hungry for a productive season after missing so much time in 2024, and the Lions could very well provide him with additional motivation if they sign him to a long-term extension before the start of the regular season. Even if they don’t extend him right away, he will enter 2025 as a premier player on a championship-caliber team. And if Hutchinson returns with the same fire — or an even stronger one — he should make a compelling case for the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year award.
Lions Will Win the NFC North for a 3rd Straight Year
GettyLions head coach Dan Campbell.
The Lions could struggle to adjust to all the coaching changes in 2025. New play-callers will likely need time to adjust to their roles and identify the issues within their schemes. The players might also need an adjustment period to acclimate to new preferences and terminologies, though their head-coaching continuity should help with those problems.
Even if the Lions do experience bumps in the road in 2025, though, the team is far too talented to count out of the playoffs at this stage. The Lions return the majority of their core players on offense and defense and have the benefit of their established chemistry to help minimize the communication errors and misunderstandings that may arise from coaching transitions. They will also welcome back several players whom they lost to injuries in 2024, including Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport and Alim McNeal.
While it is true that all three of their NFC North rivals bettered their rosters in 2025, the Lions will have a great chance at holding steady at the top if they can stay healthy.
