It’s the offseason for the Detroit Lions, but things haven’t slowed down a bit. If anything, things have gotten busier in the Lions camp since the offseason began.
First, the team was dealt a blow with the expected losses of Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to the New York Jets and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to the Chicago Bears. Those are obviously key positions, so Dan Campbell and company have been doing the interview rounds trying to fill these important slots.
Detroit Lions Confirm Key New Staffers
On Thursday, January 20, the Detroit Lions announced their new offensive and defensive coordinators.
“The Detroit Lions announced today the hiring of John Morton as offensive coordinator and the promotion of Kelvin Sheppard to defensive coordinator,” the team posted on their social media pages.
There were no big surprises here, since Morton and Sheppard have been talked about as potential replacements ever since Johnson and Glenn took gigs elsewhere. Now that it’s official, both Morton and Sheppard will be with the Lions long enough to help shape their draft picks, so locking them in sooner rather than later was a beneficial and game-changing step.
So, let’s get to know these guys. Morton was the Lions’ senior offensive assistant in 2022. Between his last time in Detroit and now, he had two seasons as the Broncos‘ passing game coordinator, “helping Broncos QB Bo Nix account for the second-most passing touchdowns (29), third-most completions (376) and eighth-most passing yards (3,775) by a rookie quarterback in NFL history in 2024,” according to the Lions.
Morton brings a bevy of experience to the Motor City, including being the Las Vegas Raiders‘ senior offensive assistant, the New York Jets’ offensive coordinator, the New Orleans Saints‘ wide receivers coach, the San Francisco 49ers‘ wide receivers and passing game coach, the Saints’ offensive assistant and passing game coach and more.
New Lions DC Comes From Within
As for Sheppard, this is a promotion straight from within. He’s heading into his fifth season with the Lions and most recently was the team’s linebackers coach from 2022 to 24. He was also the Lions’ outside linebackers coach in 2021.
“Under Sheppard’s tutelage, LB Jack Campbell became the first Lions player to produce at least 85 tackles and five tackles for loss in each of a player’s first two-career seasons since the data began being tracked in 1994, and LB Alex Anzalone (2022-23) became just the fourth player in franchise history to produce at least 125 tackles in multiple seasons,” the Lions note.
Before being a coach, Sheppard was in the NFL. He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the third round, 68th overall, in the 2011 NFL Draft, hailing from LSU, and played with the Bills from 2011 to 2018 with a number of teams, including the Bills, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants and Lions.
The Lions are in one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL, the NFC North, and lost their star offensive coordinator, Johnson, to one of the other teams in that division, the Chicago Bears. With that in mind, both Morton and Sheppard have a lot of work ahead to make sure this team is still ready for a Super Bowl next season.
