After a demoralizing Week 4 loss to the Carolina Panthers in primetime, there are a lot of questions left to be answered regarding the Detroit Lions' viability as contenders this season.
Full stop: if this team considers itself a postseason threat, something should've been done about their obvious holes on defense headed into this season. The team knew far before Week 1 that they'd be down one potential starting cornerback in Terrion Arnold, and down two All-Pro safeties with Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph continuing to rehab.
And yet, they believed in the guys they had in the building - veterans with not much left in the tank, practice squad call-ups turned starters, and neophytes not yet ready to heed the call. So, there's a lot of blame to go around.
With that blame comes multiple warming seats with just one month before the November trade deadline, and two weeks before a much-needed bye week. So, before the Lions' secondary helps revive Marvin Harrison Jr.'s career in Week 5, let's take a look at who's seat is currently the hottest.
Lions hot seat meter after Week 4 disasterclass
🧊 Nice and cold: OC Drew Petzing
Petzing is far from a problem this season, and he's been a definite upgrade to John Morton. You can tell he wants to crack the playbook open even further, but it does feel like the team still needs a few more weeks for the offensive line to gel - and for Cade Mays' return - before he can do so. Jahmyr Gibbs' utilization as a wide receiver has been a delight - 187 receiving yards so far - and Jared Goff's green light for deep passes almost helped Detroit stay in the game in Week 4. Almost.
All this to say, he should continue to do what he's doing. The offense is not at all an issue.
♨️ Beginning to warm up: HC Dan Campbell
Campbell is not 100% innocent in what's clearly a breakdown in communication and leadership within the Lions' defense. The amount of times that the NBC broadcast panned to completely dejected Lions players on the sideline of their Week 4 loss was laughable, and it was mostly due to the fact that they were watching the defense get picked apart relentlessly.
Campbell told reporters after the loss that he is going to always do what's best for his players and the team as it relates to taking over any play-calling, but also said that the team is doing to avoid making any decisions out of "panic."
"But I know this: We go into panic mode when we've got 13 games left and we're 2-2, that's not the right thing to do. I just don't believe that. I never have. So, I know there's frustration and look, I'm frustrated. I know the players are frustrated."
In my opinion, doing right by the players means making sure that their efforts - especially on offense - aren't repeatedly falling flat due to obvious issues with their defense and the coaching of that unit. Campbell is going to stick by his staff unti he can't anymore. That's what a head coach does.
But, if the Lions do make moves to bolster their secondary, and they still struggle, then the "panic" that Campbell is referring to now that isn't worth acting on, might come back to haunt them a few weeks from now.
🥵 So hot you need electrolytes to stay hydrated: DC Kelvin Sheppard
The Lions look abysmal defensively right now, and they seem to be stuck in their ways despite this. That's a direct indictment of Sheppard's game planning, and one example of why it feels like he's in over his head right now. He might not have top-notch talent in the secondary to work with, but even the linebacker room looks lost right now. That's his old unit!
Sheppard looked questionable last season, but had the benefit of the doubt with so many injuries to the Lions' secondary. This season, he's taken a step back, not forward, with even Jack Campbell looking like a liability. That's quite the feat.
Not being able to help mask your deficiencies, and to keep pressing the "blitz" button when you know that the team your facing literally thrives in the air when facing blitzing, is a coaching issue. If the Lions struggle against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5, a change will likely come during the bye week.
READ MORE: Sam LaPorta's extension talks pausing doesn't mean he's a guaranteed goner in 2027
🔥 Needs someone to douse him with a fire extinguisher: GM Brad Holmes
Holmes is the architect of this roster, for better or for worse. He saw a team missing cornerback depth and said, let's create a camp battle between Rock Ya-Sin and Nick Whiteside. He saw a need for a new slot corner and said, let's go sign Roger McCreary, who must be a journeyman for no reason! He knew that the team would be without two starting safeties and said, let's hope Chuck Clark isn't feeling too worse for wear in Year 10!
If you're securing low-budget options for your secondary, don't be surprised with poor results. It's why you can't fault Sheppard, again, with just how thin their depth chart is at safety and cornerback. That's a roster construction issue, and one that Holmes continues to have amid his fourth year managing a "contending" Lions squad.
They have a treasure chest of draft picks and ample cap room (at the moment, although it could be sitting there for the purpose of extending one of Sam LaPorta or Branch). And, they just won't use it. A mystery pick can be anyone, but you at least know for certain who you'd be netting by utilizing one or a few of said picks in a deal for starting talent.
The scariest thing is, it feels too late for Holmes to really do anything to secure a tighter roster right now. That time was free agency, and that time was a week ago in the Joey Porter Jr. sweepstakes. Both windows have passed, and he's left to, once again, peruse bargain options to fix premium position issues.
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