The Detroit Lions dominated the NFC in the 2024 regular season. As the No. 1 seed in the NFC, they didn’t show up in the postseason, falling to the Washington Commanders. Because of their success, teams came knocking for their coordinators as both the offensive coordinator, Ben Johnson, and the defensive coordinator, Aaron Glenn, left to be head coaches across the league.
Take a look at who the Lions decided to replace their coordinators with and how they’ve performed so far in 2025.
Detroit’s Coordinators in 2025
Replacing Johnson and Glenn is no easy task. They took some other staffers with them to the Jets and the Bears, like New York’s new offensive coordinator, Tanner Engstrand. Engstrand was likely next in line to be Detroit’s offensive coordinator, specifically as the passing game coordinator, but he decided to leave with Glenn for the Jets.
Head coach Dan Campbell had to rebuild a good chunk of his staff. The Lions hired John Morton to be their offensive coordinator and promoted Kelvin Sheppard to defensive coordinator for the 2025 season.
Morton has been coaching in the NFL for over 20 years and spent a few seasons coaching at USC. He’s served as an offensive coordinator for USC and the New York Jets. After his stint with the Jets in 2017, he jumped around as an offensive assistant before landing the offensive coordinator job.
The Lions’ offense is highly talented. With Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Jameson Williams, Detroit has plenty of weapons that can hurt a defense. They rank 9th in PFSN’s Offense Impact score with a grade of 82.1. The Lions haven’t been as dominant on the offensive end. Campbell took offensive play-calling duties away from Morton to assume them himself, aiming to spark better production for the unit.
It looked like it was paying off until they ran into the Eagles. However, after that rough offensive showing, the Lions’ explosive offense returned to form with a performance of a lifetime from Gibbs against the Giants.
Sheppard waited his turn in the Lions organization before earning the promotion to defensive coordinator. He began working as an outside linebackers coach in 2021 and served in that role for three additional seasons. Now, in his fifth season with Detroit, he has the keys to the defense.
There is no shortage of talent on defense, either. They have the 7th-ranked defense in PFSN’s Defense Impact score. Their grade of 81.1 comes in just barely ahead of their division rival, the Green Bay Packers. Sheppard has done a great job in his first season as the defensive coordinator.
His inexperience as a coordinator hasn’t yet been apparent, but his familiarity within the organization can help mitigate these potential pitfalls. The defense hasn’t always been at its best, but when they are playing to their capabilities, they are a really tough unit that can give top offenses some problems.
Despite having a good offense and defense, the Lions find themselves on the outside looking in for the postseason. The Lions must stack wins in their final six games, despite a challenging schedule. They face the NFC-best Rams, the Packers, and the division-leading Bears in the homestretch, and a couple of losses could be the pivotal blow to the Lions’ season that began with Super Bowl aspirations.
Their biggest game of the year is on Thanksgiving. Every game will become more important as the weeks dwindle, but this one means more. A divisional rivalry on Thanksgiving just means more.
While families gather and enjoy some turkey, the Lions take on the Packers in their most crucial test of the season. They need a win to hop the Packers, while a loss would put them further behind in the tightly contested playoff race. The new staff hasn’t troubled the Lions too much, but they have to navigate through whatever issues they might face if they want to play meaningful January football once again.
