Lions head coach Dan Campbell made Kelvin Sheppard one of his first assistant coach hires when he got the job in 2021, and promoted him to defensive coordinator in 2025. As Sheppard heads into his second season as Detroit’s defensive coordinator, Campbell is seeing continued growth.
Sheppard played linebacker in the NFL and was previously a linebackers coach, but Campbell said Sheppard looks more in sync with the entire defense now that he has a year of experience running it all.
“Relative to last year at this time, he’s just much more comfortable,” Campbell said. “I think he’s got a much better grasp of how he wants it to look. Now he’s coaching all 11. He’s coaching the front, he’s coaching the backers, and he’s coaching the back end. He sees it all. That’s what happens when you’re able to do it, you go through a season, you go through the practices, you diagnose yourself as a play caller and say, This is where we can get a little bit better. You can’t help to get better, whether you’re a head coach, OC, DC, special teams, with time on task, under pressure, making corrections, adapting to personnel, injuries, and he’s done all that. So I love where Shep’s at right now.”
A year ago, the loss of both defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to head-coaching jobs was felt by the Lions, and on offense, Campbell decided he needed to make a change. But on defense, Campbell still thinks he has the right coach for the job, and a coach who will be better in Year Two.
