The Detroit Lions lost two key coordinators this offseason, with Aaron Glenn leaving for the New York Jets' head coaching vacancy (cool) and Ben Johnson leaving for the Chicago Bears' head coaching vacancy (not as cool).
Questions now linger about whether head coach Dan Campbell can make things hum in the same way the Lions did last season with a top offense and defense, when healthy. With new DC Kelvin Sheppard and OC John Morton running things for each unit, we're likely to see some growing pains despite how highly Detroit players have spoken of the two newly promoted coordinators.
It's because of those anticipated growing pains that we keep seeing the Lions sliding down some power rankings. The most recent in which they suffer a tax thanks to losing Glenn and Johnson is in ESPN's latest coaching rankings. Ben Solak has the Lions sliding from number 2 overall in 2024 all the way down to 11th, for the obvious reasons listed above.
ESPN has Lions ranked as 11th best coaching staff for 2025
Solak reasons that the departures of Johnson and Glenn with the stabilizing factor being Campbell still in the fold keeps them somewhat afloat at 11th, but with a clear need to be knocked down from 2nd overall.
With Morton as more of an established face in coaching circles, Sheppard is entering this role as more of a "mystery," writes Solak.
"A player as recently as 2018, he has only coached in Detroit under Glenn, so his coaching DNA is trickier to riddle out. Morton and Sheppard get the advantage of an excellent leader in Campbell, but also a sneaky good schematic mind -- Campbell had a much bigger hand in the development of Johnson's offense than is often appreciated. There will be an inevitable drop-off in playcalling from Glenn and Johnson, but I'm confident it'll be small."
It's fair to say that the defense could suffer as a result of new faces across the board - Sheppard is just one promotion in a sea of new player additions that include D.J. Reed and Rock Ya-Sin, to name a few. But, he was with the team as the linebackers coach prior to his elevation, and that has bought him some great cache with a unit that's seen as potentially one of the best in the league.
As long as players are bought in entirely into both Campbell's unchanged philosophy and new coordinators' playcalling, then a huge step back is unlikely. A communication gap that needs closure, sure. But nothing the team should view as a potential hinderance to their ability to keep contending for a Super Bowl appearance.
