The Detroit Lions’ 2024 season went from a dream to a nightmare when it moved from the regular season to the playoffs.
Detroit won a franchise-record 15 games to capture the NFC North division crown and the conference’s top seed for the playoffs, but it all fell apart with a thud in a 45-game home loss. -31 in NFC divisional round against sixth-seeded Washington. Commanders and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Now the Lions are also coming to terms with the fact that they will be starting from scratch at the offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator positions on their coaching staff with Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn vying to become NFL head coaches this hiring cycle. Johnson was interviewed by the Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars and Las Vegas Raiders, and Glenn interviewed for openings with the Bears, Jaguars, Raiders, New Orleans Saints and New York Jets.
The Lions’ Johnson-led offenses have averaged 29.0 points per game since he became Detroit’s OC, the most in the NFL in that time. The 33.2 points per game they produced in 2024 led the league and were the most in a single season in franchise history. The average points per game allowed by Glenn’s Lions defense has declined while their takeaways have increased each year he has been DC since 2021. Detroit’s 20.1 points per game allowed this season was the seventh-fewest in the NFL and the fewest for the Lions since 2014, where they gave up just 17.6 points per game. The Lions’ 24 takeaways were tied for ninth in the NFL and the most in a season for Detroit since 2017, when the team racked up 32 takeaways.
However, Lions head coach Dan Campbell won’t rush to immediately replace either coach, citing the need Monday to hire properly. Although he believes he has good internal candidates, Campbell also plans to interview coaches outside the organization.
“I think we have guys on the team who I think are more than qualified and would be exceptional in those roles (offensive and defensive coordinator), but that doesn’t mean I’m not looking at the role as well. ‘outside”, Campbell said.. “I want what I believe to be as close to what we have been as possible. We don’t lose who we are and our identity. … We’re going to stay true to who we are. If you’re someone who doesn’t don’t feel comfortable with it, it’s not the job for you.
“I’m not going to be in a hurry. I’m not in a rat race. I want to do what’s right for our team, and what I believe is that these guys will be able to stand at the front of it. this room and command respect and bring everyone in the same direction and ultimately deliver the same message as me.
So, which internal candidates could be in the running for promotions to coordinator positions in Detroit? Here’s a look at some candidates for each side of the ball.
Internal CO candidates
Scottie Montgomery, assistant head coach/running backs coach
Montgomery has held his role as assistant head coach/running backs coach in each of the last two seasons, which is Jahmyr Gibbs’ entire NFL career. Detroit’s 141.1 rushing yards per game since 2023 are fourth in the NFL while the team ranks fifth in yards per carry (4.6). The Lions lead the NFL with 56 rushing touchdowns under Montgomery’s tutelage over the past two seasons. Gibbs and David Montgomery produced over 1,000 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns in 2023 and 2024. Gibbs’ 20 touchdowns from scrimmage led the league and are tied for the most in a season by a player during his career. first or second season in the NFL. Gibbs’ 6.4 scrimmage yards per touch in 2024 were the second-most in a season in the 21st century, behind Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk’s 6.6 yards per scrimmage touch during his 2000 MVP season. NFL.
This is a strong argument for a promotion if Campbell feels continuity is the path he wants to take.
Tanner Engstrand, passing game coordinator
Engstrand worked his second season as the passing game coordinator in 2024, meaning wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown earned first-team All-Pro selections in each of his years to his current position. St. Brown’s 12 receiving touchdowns in 2024 were the most by a Lions player since Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson’s 12 during the 2013 season. He also became the first player in Lions history to make 100 or more catches, 1,000 or more receiving yards, and 10 or more receiving touchdowns in consecutive seasons.
Quarterback Jared Goff also had a banner year in 2024, throwing 37 passing touchdowns – the fourth-most touchdown passes in the league this season and the second-most in a single season in history of the team behind only Matthew Stafford’s 41 in 2011. Goff’s seven games with at least three passing touchdowns in 2024 tied the Lions record for most in a season with Stafford during from his 2011 season. Engstrand also helped develop tight end Sam LaPorta, who set the NFL rookie receptions record for tight ends in 2023 with 86, a record that was broken by the tight end Las Vegas Raiders Brock Bowers this season. LaPorta’s 17 receiving touchdowns since entering the NFL in 2023 are tied among tight ends with Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews.
Like Montgomery, there are certainly good reasons for Engstrand to receive the promotion.
Internal DC candidates
Kelvin Sheppard, linebackers coach
Sheppard is in his fourth season in Detroit, third as linebackers coach. Linebacker Alex Anzalone had career years in 2022 and 2023 before battling injuries like many Lions this season. He became only the third Lion to record multiple seasons with at least 125 tackles in each of those seasons. Second-year linebacker Jack Campbell was Pro Football Focus’ ninth-highest rated linebacker in 2024 with a 78.3 PFF defensive rating. He excelled in pass coverage with a PFF coverage grade of 74.2, which was also ninth best in the league among linebackers. Anzalone was right behind him in that measure this season with a PFF coverage grade of 72.1, the 10th-best figure among linebackers.
Lions 2022 sixth-round linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez, affectionately known as “Rodrigo” on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” by Campbell in 2022, recorded the seventh-best PFF run defense grade in 2024 (87.1 ).
Terrell Williams, running game coordinator/defensive line coach
Terrell Williams joined Campbell’s staff in 2024 after six seasons with the Tennessee Titans (2018-2023) as defensive line coach while also becoming an assistant head coach in 2023. Detroit had one of best run defenses in the NFL in 2024, ranking fifth in the rankings. league in rushing yards per game allowed (98.4). This is incredibly impressive considering the mash unit Detroit was leading. Edge rushers Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport and James Houston suffered season-ending injuries, as did defensive tackles Alim McNeill and Mekhi Wingo.
Despite all of these injuries, the Lions pass rush was still one of the top 10 units at pressuring the quarterback (37.2% quarterback pressure rate, sixth best in the NFL).
