The Detroit Lions have had a ton of turnover on the coaching staff this offseason, especially in the coordinator positions. The Lions lost both coordinators to head coaching jobs, as Ben Johnson is now the head coach of the Chicago Bears, while Aaron Glenn took the New York Jets job.
Detroit replaced Johnson with John Morton as offensive coordinator and Glenn with Kelvin Sheppard as defensive coordinator. Morton spent the last two seasons as the passing game coordinator for the Denver Broncos, while Sheppard was already on Dan Campbell’s staff as a linebackers coach since 2021, earning a much-deserved promotion.
Though Detroit has an elite roster and culture, Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton still believes the Lions are the biggest offseason losers in the NFC North due to the departures of Johnson and Glenn.
Here is Moton’s reasoning for the Lions being major losers this offseason.
“Head coach Dan Campbell has transformed the Detroit Lions into a playoff contender after the club finished last in the NFC North for four consecutive terms between 2018 and 2021. Campbell had help, though. He propelled the Lions to postseason contention with Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn as his coordinators, and they both took head-coaching jobs this offseason. Johnson went to a divisional rival, the Chicago Bears. Campbell built a foundation with his coordinators, and it won’t be the same without them. Detroit must reinvent itself in 2025,” Moton wrote.
Obviously, losing two pivotal members of the coaching staff in Johnson and Glenn does hurt, but if Campbell is still the head coach and Detroit has a roster with few flaws, the team will always be contenders in the NFC.
We’ll see how Morton and Sheppard perform as replacements for Johnson and Glenn, but counting the Lions out for losing their coordinators is completely foolish. They still figure to be one of the top teams in the NFL in 2025.
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