Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes finally addressed the 2025 offseason with media on Thursday, about a week after the team's Week 18 win over the Chicago Bears which wrapped up a 9-8 season and a fourth-place finish in the NFC North.
And, one answer he gave to the press regarding the Lions' disappointing work defensively should make all Lions fans take note - specifically, as it pertains to defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard's job security.
Holmes told the press that, "late in the season, some of the run defense stuff, I think that was uncharacteristic. We're normally very good in run defense, and it was just not clocking, not consistent. But as I said from the top, we're going to look at everything. Players, scheme, the whole thing."
Holmes hints at changes to defense in end of year press conference
Sheppard's first year as DC for the Lions wasn't exactly bad, especially in contrast to his fellow first year coordinator in John Morton, who is no longer with the team. But, Sheppard probably lacked in his creativity defensively at times, to put it generously. A lot of explosive plays were given up late in the season, and as Holmes notes, their run defense began to crumble despite some relative health up front.
Sheppard's probably going to get another year at DC, and he should. Detroit has to bring in some new faces at the pass rush in addition to creating some competition in their secondary, and Sheppard definitely earned another season to be able to experiment with those new faces. And, health plays a huge part in this, too.
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But, he'll need to obviously show the ability to be flexible on defense if he wants to keep his role secure. Sheppard had been asked during the season if he would be open to changing his scheme defensively given how much they were struggling to contain the run, and he said:
“No, I don’t see drastic change. This league is about adaptability. And you can have a system all you want, but it’s whatever dictates that week is necessary to win the football game. And that’s predicated on a lot of different variables. You talk about the offense that you’re facing, you’re talking about the personnel that’s at your disposal that week."
Sheppard's a young coordinator who wants to show confidence in his game planning, which is understandable. But, it's obvious that Holmes, and Campbell, want to see things done differently moving forward on that front. Whether Sheppard can manage that change is a different story.