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What to expect from Detroit Lions’ new coordinators

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DETROIT — When the Detroit Lions line up for their Week 1 opener against the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 7, many fans’ eyes will be on the two men calling the shots on both sides of the ball.

New offensive coordinator John Morton and defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard have taken over the roles after previous OC Ben Johnson and DC Aaron Glenn landed head coaching jobs with the Chicago Bears and New York Jets, respectively, this offseason.

The Lions are the fourth team since 2000 to lose both of their coordinators to head coaching jobs in the same offseason, joining the Eagles (2023), Bengals (2014) and Chargers (2007), according to ESPN Research.

Sheppard, 37 — who spent eight seasons (2011-18) in the NFL as a linebacker for the Bills, Colts, Dolphins and Lions — enters his fifth season with the organization after arriving in 2021. He served one season as outside linebackers coach before being promoted to linebackers coach in 2022. Before joining the Lions, he served as the director of player development at LSU, where he was an All-SEC selection and team captain.

Morton, 55, was previously the Lions’ senior offensive assistant in 2022. He spent the past two seasons as Denver’s passing game coordinator through which he helped Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix flourish last season. He’s also served in offensive assistant roles under Jon Gruden with the Raiders, Jim Harbaugh in San Francisco and Sean Payton in New Orleans.

Coach Dan Campbell lost a total of eight assistants following the Lions’ franchise-best 15-2 campaign in 2024, but says he has been impressed with both of his new coordinators so far.

“Both of those guys are very detailed. Strength, there’s a number of things they have. I think more importantly, it’s about the detail,” Campbell said. “Johnny talks all the time about RCE: Recognize, Communicate, and Execute.

“That’s big for us as coaches, that’s big for the players, too,” he said. “And Shepp, you know, is no different than that. Shepp is about the details of what we do and having the ability to get into something per what the offense is giving us.”

Even on the heels of back-to-back NFC North titles and earning the top seed in the division last season, Sheppard says he doesn’t feel overwhelmed by the challenge and the expectations ahead. He credits Campbell and Glenn for preparing him for the role and says the support staff Campbell has built around him will allow him to lean on their expertise.

“I told the players the other day in the defensive unit meeting, this isn’t my stuff I’m saying. This is our stuff. I’m not ever going to stand up here and say I’m some genius guru and I invented football,” Sheppard said. “I have allowed my staff to have ownership in their respective positions. I allow input from everyone, from top to bottom. If there’s a ‘why’ behind it, it’s going in. These guys know that, so I think that allows them to work harder. The trust is there, there’s no looking over your shoulder.”

For Morton, who has nearly three decades of experience under his belt, stepping into his new role after Johnson’s success is a challenge to be relished.

In Johnson’s three seasons as the Lions offensive coordinator (2022-24), Detroit led the NFL in points per game (29.0) — including a league-high 33.2 PPG last season — ranked first in red zone touchdown percentage, second in expected points added, third in offensive efficiency and third in yards per play. Despite that success, the Lions failed to reach the Super Bowl. Morton said he is looking to change that.

“I don’t feel pressure. The good thing is, I was here a few years ago, so that helps a lot,” Morton said. “A lot of these players knew who I am, and we’re all still getting to know each other.

“This is my 27th year, you should always feel pressure, but I don’t feel anxious or anything like that. I feel very confident. We’ll see how this goes. We’re still in the process of all learning each other,” he said.

So, what are the Lions getting in Morton and Sheppard this season? We asked Lions players — as well as a surprise coach — about their strengths, coaching style, departures from Johnson and Glenn’s schemes, what fans should expect to see from each’s unit and more.

Here’s how Detroit’s new coordinators are being received so far. Answers were edited for brevity and clarity.


What have Morton and Sheppard brought to the table since assuming their new roles, and what stands out the most about them?

Morton

Running back David Montgomery: He got a different kind of humor. It’s like an old person’s humor. He’s funny. … He was here before me, so he knows this offense already. He’s petted this offense. So, it’s not really like a bunch of different stuff, but he’s definitely got his own spin and twist to it.

Sheppard

Cornerback Amik Robertson: His energy. You can tell he’s passionate about the game, about us and about his job. You want it no other way when you’ve got a coach like that and … what I think stands out, of course he comes with passion and all that, but he holds his players accountable and he’s real with it. That’s how I like it and I’m pretty sure guys on the defense and team like it the same way.

Linebacker Derrick Barnes: Passionate, I’ll tell you that. Really, really, passionate. And when you don’t know him, it can come off as strong, but I started to figure out real soon that this guy loves the game and loves to make people better. He loves to put confidence in players and once you gravitate towards that, you start to understand him. He’s a guy you want to play for. He’s a guy you want to lay it all on the line for.

Edge defender Marcus Davenport: I remember last year there was a willingness to work with your players to better make the system for them, so I can continue to see that.


What are their greatest strengths and how will they help the team the most?

Sheppard

Cornerback Terrion Arnold: One thing about him that separates him as a coach is he doesn’t throw his players under the bus. Like, he’s been in a meeting before and a player has messed up and he said, ‘That’s on me,’ instead of saying, ‘OK, TA, you messed up this assignment’ and we do the same thing. So, it’s just him reiterating details, details, details.

Barnes: [He’s] very aggressive, which we like as a defense. He has confidence in our defense and the ability we have, whether that’s rushing or Cover 1, knowing our DBs are gonna lock receivers down. … Once the coach has confidence in you, then you will have confidence in yourself to be able to produce. He’s awesome. He’s doing a great job. He’s leading. He’s holding all of us to a high standard and allowing us to play free but also do it at the cost of not costing our teammates on the field.

Davenport: Ownership. It’s a control and just applying that control individually so we can all work together.

Morton

Quarterback Jared Goff: I think his ability to listen to his players is massive. He’s got no ego. He’s very open to listening. He wants to know what we want to do. He’s very open with listening to me and I feel like I’ve earned that, but he’s very open to it and collaborative and it’s fun, it’s really fun to be a part of an offense, for not only myself, but the leaders like (Amon-Ra) St. Brown, Penei (Sewell), (Taylor) Decker, to be able to give that input and to have it express itself in the plays. It’s been fun. It’s been great.

Tight end Brock Wright: I’d just say passion for the game in general. He works his butt off and he’s in the building probably more than anybody. He just cares so much about helping us get to where we need to get as an offense. Every single day he’s bringing some fire to the room and excited to put us in positions to be successful. You just kind of need energy as a whole like that on the team and you can’t let that die out. It’s a long season so you’ve got to bring that kind of energy every single day.


How and what have they changed from the previous regime since assuming the role?

Sheppard

Arnold on Sheppard: [Glenn] groomed Shepp and with Shepp just being younger, we really gel with him. If you really want to be honest, Shepp could be out there playing right now. Having a coach that’s seeing the game the way that we’re seeing it and with the competitive spirit that he has and allowing us to go out there and challenge. Me, being able to tell coach, like, ‘Hey, Coach, I want this guy right here. Let me get him’ and he’s like, ‘all right TA, I’m gonna give you the opportunity to get him.’ So, just that player-trust relationship and having somebody that would go to bat for you.

Barnes on Sheppard: I can’t talk too much about the playbook, but I’ll tell you this: He learned a lot from AG [Aaron Glenn] and he knows AG’s defense and we have the same players, so you don’t want to change too much because it was great stuff. He took a lot of good stuff from AG, and I think it’s gonna be good for our defense.

Safety Kerby Joseph: A lot more expectation because when [Glenn] was here, I wouldn’t say [we were in a] development [stage], but in that stage of getting guys right. Now I feel like we know what to expect, and not even with the coaches, but Shepp is putting a lot of the players to make calls and understand what’s going on in certain situations. Because it’s a lot of young guys [who] grew up like myself. This is going into my fourth year so it’s a lot on my plate to understand what’s going on and get guys right.

Morton

Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown: I would say it’s a mix of like 50-50. … He’s kind of grabbed stuff from his offenses, kind of kept stuff the same from the offense we had and just kind of mixed everything in. A lot of the stuff we know but some of the stuff, obviously, we’ve got to learn and it’s new stuff so it’s a mixture.


What should we expect to see from their units in 2025?

Sheppard

Sheppard: We should be playing at a high level. And for me to say anything else is unacceptable, and my players know that. It’s a standard here. It’s been set before, and we’re raising that bar. We want to play at a high level on defense. I told the room in my first speech to them, ‘I’m not setting any goals, expectations, or any of that stuff.’ I know the makeup of the room, and I truly believe if we attack every day and if we improve … I think we can turn into a dominant unit.

Morton

Former NFL coach and Morton mentor Jon Gruden: He was here with Ben Johnson before. He helped put the offense in initially. Jared [Goff]’s gonna do a lot at the line of scrimmage. You’re gonna hear RCE a lot. I used to have hats made. Recognition leads to communication and if we can do that, we’re gonna execute at a high level. But I think RCE is the slogan that you’re gonna hear a lot around here and probably feel like you’re seeing a lot. You’re gonna see a lot of pre-snapped movement where you’re trying to recognize what’s going on and you’re going to see communication. Then you’ll see Gibbs, St. Brown and LaPorta execute it at a high level.


What’s your best story about the new coaches?

Sheppard

Lions running back Craig Reynolds: Him demonstrating routes in meetings is great. It seems like he still thinks he got it. He’d be out there trying to do the moves at the top of the route, [showing] how he wants it done. A lot of head and shoulders. A lot of grunting. So, it’s fun. He’s very animated. He keeps the meetings live and energetic.

Barnes on Sheppard: That’s a guy that believed in me when nobody else did. I mean from when I first game in, he used to call me Baby Ray (Lewis) and he gave me a lot of confidence and I think it really helped my game turn around and my mental most importantly. I wouldn’t want him to change for nobody. Continue to be who he is, continue to be passionate.

Morton

Gruden: He is a hard-working guy. For all the Detroit fans, what you don’t see is the work ethic you’re getting. This guy is nuts. People thought I was nuts; this guy is freakin’ nuts, man. He loves it. He’s a creative guy. He’s a great competitor and I can’t wait to see the Lions open up the season.

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