The Detroit Lions were without a defensive coordinator for just a few days after Aaron Glenn took the New York Jets head coaching job. They had planned to interview just one candidate to fill the role in former Lions’ linebacker and current Bucs linebacker coach Larry Foote, but now they’ve made the decision to stay in-house.
Another former Lions linebacker turned linebacker coach is taking over the role and that’s Kelvin Sheppard.
Sheppard was always the assumed guy to take over the job, that’s why it felt somewhat strange to see the team look to interview an outside candidate. We don’t know if they still plan to hire Foote for something else, but we know that the way they went at DC is the best possible way.
There has been no question that Sheppard is ready for this moment. Honestly, when you see him on the sideline of games and you see the way he holds the floor at training camp and even in the linebacker room, you wonder why he hasn’t been a DC this whole time. If Glenn had left after the 2022 season, I’m confident Sheppard would have been able to take over then.
Sheppard has the respect of the players in the locker room, and we’ll soon see what ideas he plans to bring to the field. There’s no word on whether there will be any schematic changes or changes to the philosophy of the Lions’ defense under Glenn.
We know that the Lions’ offense plans to remain as similar as possible, but we’ll see what that means for the defense. What it could definitely mean is that the Lions are looking to hold on to their linebacker talent and that Alexa Anzalone, Jack Campbell, and Malcolm Rodriguez will be featured in whatever is laid out.
What this could mean for the rest of the staff is that the Lions are likely to look to stay in-house on the offensive side of the ball, too. Scottie Montgomery seems to make the most sense. On the defensive side of the ball, a promotion for former Lions linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton is likely in order. He’ll bump up to Sheppard’s’ role, and then the Lions will be on the lookout for someone to fill his role.
This is all proof that Dan Campbell has hired an exceptionally good staff and that time has been spent on getting guys on staff ready for bigger roles. A little hiring from the outside is good, but when you have a good contingency plan, you’re never really losing anything and the philosophy and expectations can stay the same.