Allen Park, Michigan — Finally, the day has here. New coordinators are needed for the Detroit Lions. After much anticipation, Aaron Glenn (New York Jets) and Ben Johnson (Chicago Bears) are leaving to manage their own teams.

The next question is who they bring along, but for now, we know that Dan Campbell has been given the responsibility of replacing two of his closest confidants during a Super Bowl window.

Of course, it is possible. When the Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl two years ago, they lost Jonathan Gannon and Shane Steichen.

The 2023 season was a bit of a step back, however the Eagles still won 11 games and made the playoffs.

The Eagles are back in the NFC Championship Game following additional staff changes in the previous offseason.

Campbell has demonstrated a keen sense of his demands and talent. He should have a variety of possibilities, both internal and exterior, but you never know with him.

Montgomery has coached at both the NFL and college levels, among other places.

He is a well-respected running backs coach who has been interviewed for a few different offensive coordinator positions, including the Lions’ opening in 2022 and the Bucs’ opening last offseason.

As Campbell’s associate head coach, he is frequently given the responsibility of addressing the entire squad.

He is an obvious leader, a great culture man, and his teammates adore him. The offensive line coach for the Lions, Hank Fraley: One of Campbell’s most crucial coaches is Fraley.

His teaching and communication skills are highly praised by Detroit’s offensive line, which offers a variety of techniques for different players. However, during the off-season, his phone has been ringing. Fraley and the Seahawks have discussed their OC opening.

As his OC, might Johnson bring him to Chicago? Perhaps not. Fraley is not anticipated to land in Chicago, according to a story published Wednesday by Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. In a perfect world, he would be back coaching Detroit’s offensive line.

However, he might be up for the challenge of being an OC here or somewhere else if the right opportunity presents itself.

 

The first Detroit Lions OnSI mock draft roundup for the 2025 NFL Draft is now available.

Many EDGE defenders have emerged as popular choices for the Lions at No. 28 overall in the past week.

Green showed us the potential of his 6’4”, 248-pound bulk with his impressive reps versus Ohio State, which included a repulsive spin move for a sack and a fantastic bend running the arc.

He has some genuine double-digit sack potential at the NFL level because of his fast first step, unusual lateral mobility, and physics-defying bend for an edge rusher.

 

 

 

The Lions are starting the process to find a new defensive coordinator.

 

Five days removed from the team’s season-ending loss, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell has three spots to fill on his coaching staff. One is set to be filled, with Kacy Rodgers coming aboard as the new defensive line coach, and the process to fill another spot has started.

 

As first reported by Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the Lions are interviewing Larry Foote for their defensive coordinator job left open by the departure of Aaron Glenn to become the new head coach of the New York Jets.

 

Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports also reported the Lions are expected to interview Foote.

 

The 44-year old Foote is a Detroit native and a University of Michigan alum. He played linebacker in the NFL for 13 seasons (2002-2014) for three teams, including one season with the Lions (2009) and two Super Bowl rings as a Pittsburgh Steeler before spending his final season with the Arizona Cardinals.

 

Lions interview Larry Foote as first known candidate to replace Aaron Glenn

Foote got right into coaching as assistant outside linebackers coach for the Cardinals in 2015. After three years he went to be the outside linebackers coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he has been for the last six seasons. In 2022, he became the Buccaneers’ inside linebackers coach/passing game coordinator. Like Rodgers, his Buccaneers contract expired at the end of the season.

 

Per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, who seemed to lament the Lions poaching the Buccaneers’ defensive staff as if its not typical business when a coach’s contract is expired, the Buccaneers would like Foote back.

 

The search to replace Glenn will surely extend beyond Foote, but should he get the job he would reunited immediately with Rodgers in Detroit.

Over the six years they were together in Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers defense has ranked in the top 10 in points allowed three times, and it only ranked in the bottom half of the league once (29th in 2019, the first season of the Bruce Arians/Todd Bowles regime).

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After losing to the Washington Commanders in the divisional round, the Detroit Lions will have a lot of questions to address this offseason.

Brad Holmes, the general manager, needs to figure out how to strengthen a roster that didn’t perform well.

Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox believes one potential cut candidate for the Lions is cornerback Amik Robertson, who signed a two-year deal worth $9.2 million with Detroit last offseason.

“The Lions’ pile of cornerback injuries has given Amik Robertson the chance to shine as a cornerback who can play on the inside and outside,” Knox wrote.

However, the Lions will have an opportunity to reassess the entire position group throughout the offseason.

The Lions have young players Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr.while Carlton Davis is scheduled to become a free agency. The Lions might decide that removing Robertson would be worth the $4.8 million they could save, Knox continued. During the regular season, Robertson started four games for Detroit and gave up just 56.9% of the targets that he attempted.

The veteran is anticipated to be fit for offseason training after suffering a broken humerus in the first quarter of the team’s playoff loss against the Commanders.

Though saving roughly $5 million in cap room by letting Robertson go sounds like a no-brainer, Brad Holmes should consider keeping the 26-year-old.

Robertson proven to be a useful depth piece this season and a significant leader in the locker room.  In order to save money this summer and re-sign Robertson for the 2025 campaign, Detroit should look for other options.

And just like that, the Detroit Lions got poached to hell by the NFL head-coaching carousel. Former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson took over the Chicago Bears earlier in the week.

With defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn moving over one of the clubs he used to star for in the New York Jets, Dan Campbell needs to replenish the supporting staff around him.

The first step is to promote this particular instructor.

Inside linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard, a former third-round pick out of LSU, has not been associated with either the Bears or Jets.

Sheppard played for six different teams during his eight years in the league, most notably the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills, but he played his final season with the Lions before turning to coaching a few years later.

According to rumors, Mark Brunell, the quarterbacks coach for the Lions, who is expected to be the Jets’ next offensive coordinator, is the most prominent figure to succeed either Glenn or Johnson.

The legendary Jacksonville Jaguars player has effectively transitioned from a thriving media career to a fantastic coaching job. What is that man incapable of? The Lions must make keeping Sheppard on staff their top priority. The fact that Campbell is still under contract and knows Sheppard well is his greatest advantage.

The Philadelphia Eagles lost both of their top coordinators to head coaching opportunities not too long ago, and while Sean Desai and Brian Johnson may not have clicked as replacements for Shane Steichen and Jonathan Gannon, respectively, it was worth a try.

To be honest, Campbell owes it to himself to see if he can fill any voids on his staff internally before looking outside.

Ultimately, I do believe that the Lions will withdraw at the end of this season.

Why wouldn’t they, after all? When will this team ever have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and the top seed? The good news is that I do not have big expectations for either the Minnesota Vikings or the Green Bay Packers in the next season. The Chicago Bears can’t possibly be any worse, but they should be better.

To make it abundantly clear, the Lions may have seen their Super Bowl window close after losing their two rockstar coordinators to other jobs.

Coaching attrition is the quickest way to bring a team back to earth, college or pro. However, I do think promoting someone from within like Sheppard helps stop the bleeding a bit. Even if the Lions bleed out, they are not going to run dry because of Dan Campbell.

It’s time for general manager Brad Holmes to focus on his offseason priority list now that the Detroit Lions have been eliminated from the postseason. For Holmes, this includes determining his and the team’s strategy for the 2025 NFL Draft, which is scheduled for Green Bay from April 24 to 26. Detroit currently has six draft picks, including the first-round pick at number 28 overall.

It would be prudent for Holmes and company to select an impact defensive player with the previously indicated pick. Don’t get me wrong; in 2024, the Lions’ defensive performance significantly improved.

In terms of points allowed per game, they were placed No. 7 this past season (20.1), down from No. 23 in 2023 (23.2). By no means does this imply that the item is a completed product, though.

If you saw any Lions game in 2024, you would have seen that the team still desperately needs a complementing pass-rush player for EDGE Aidan Hutchinson as well as cornerback assistance.

Detroit must work hard to improve those two areas if it is to advance as a club and eventually win its first Super Bowl in franchise history. Jack Sawyer of Ohio State would be a good target if the Lions choose to use the EDGE strategy in the early selection rounds.

At six feet five and 260 pounds, Sawyer is coming off a very successful senior season in which he helped the Buckeyes win the national championship in the College Football Playoffs and recorded a career-high nine sacks.

In addition, he recorded 16 quarterback hits, 38 total hurries, and a 90.6 overall Pro Football Focus score. He also received an 82.9 run-defense rating and an 89.2 pass-rushing grade from PFF.

Sawyer profiles as a competent pass-rusher and run-stopper at the highest level. He is a high-motor, high-IQ athlete. In addition to being strong enough to collapse the pocket and reach the quarterback as a pass-rusher, he is also physically strong when attacking the run. He would undoubtedly help a Lions squad that finished in the bottom half of the league in 2024 in terms of total sacks (37.0). Sawyer isn’t the most athletic, though, and he lacks a high level of get-off ability when he approaches the edge. His potential to become a high-impact quarterback disruptor at the next level will probably be limited by these two characteristics.

The freezing-cold As the sixth-seeded Commanders punished an error-plagued Lions effort, Daniels tossed two touchdowns and finished with 299 passing yards and no interceptions, leaving Detroit’s Ford Field in shellshocked stillness.

One of the most formidable teams throughout the regular season, the Lions’ explosive offense helped them reach a 15-2 record, leading many to think they were primed to win the franchise’s first Super Bowl.

However, a series of mistakes, including five turnovers, caused Washington to gain insurmountable momentum in an intense slugfest, and their hopes of winning the championship were dashed in spectacular way.

These scores came during a frenzied second-quarter rush in which the two teams combined for an incredible six touchdowns.

With tight end Sam LaPorta catching an incredible one-handed touchdown throw and Jameson Williams sprinting 61 yards into the goal zone following a deft Detroit trick play, the Lions themselves generated two thrilling moments.

When running back Williams threw an interception on a risky Detroit trick play, Washington was able to reclaim possession and score their sixth touchdown of the game, making the score 45-28.

This effectively ended the game. In the final seconds of the fourth quarter, Goff ended a miserable performance by making his third interception to end the game. With a 12-5 record at the end of the season, the Commanders will now travel to play the Philadelphia Eagles or Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game next week, with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.