Following their 45-31 loss to the Washington Commanders in the divisional round, the Detroit Lions' season has come to an end. This means the departures of Lions' offensive and defensive coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn are imminent as both coaches have been top candidates for head coaching jobs this cycle.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell is prepared to lose both coordinators and is confident in the internal replacement candidates he already has on staff in Detroit. Campbell, however, clarified that he is not opposed to candidates from outside the building either.
“We've got guys on staff that I think are more than qualified to be outstanding in either of those roles,” Campbell said. “That does not mean I'm not looking outside either. I want what I believe is going to be as close to what we have been as possible and we don't lose what we're about and our identity… If you're somebody that doesn't feel comfortable with that, this is not the job for you.”
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, top internal candidates to replace Johnson and Glenn include assistant head coach/running backs coach Scottie Montgomery, passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand and linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard.
The Lions will likely be under new leadership on both sides of the ball when the 2025-26 season comes around, but as Campbell said, he hopes things will run as similarly as possible to the current structure in Detroit.
Lions react to season ending
Their season came to an end earlier than they would have liked, but the 2024-25 season was a good one for the Lions. The NFC North champion earned the No. 1 seed in the conference after a 15-2 regular season.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell does not think the Lions had their best stuff against the Commanders.
“We just didn't play great, and I mentioned we didn't complement each other and that's the same thing. At the end of the day, I didn't have them ready,” Campbell said. “It's hard to look at it.”
Lions quarterback Jared Goff threw three interceptions in the loss to the Commanders, something he is having a difficult time processing.
“I'm still kind of processing this. I'm going to have some hard nights coming up unfortunately. It's hard. I wish I could give you guys a better answer right now,” Goff said. “It's disappointing. It's hard. We had everything we wanted. Home field advantage, the fans were incredible and unfortunately, we just let it slip out of our hands.”
The Lions will now turn their attention to the offseason and look at improving before next season.
