The Detroit Lions will be looking for new offensive and defensive coordinators in 2025, as Ben Johnson accepted a head coaching job with the Chicago Bears, and most recently, it’s been announced that Aaron Glenn has accepted a head coaching position with the New York Jets.

When Johnson exited, we identified 12 offensive coordinator candidates for the Lions to consider, and now with Glenn also on the move, we’ve compiled a list of candidates the Lions should consider for their vacated defensive coordinator position.

While Lions coach Dan Campbell has a very clear set of parameters that he desires in a new offensive coordinator, he was also very adamant about wanting the core philosophies on defense intact.

“I don’t see philosophy changing,” Campbell noted. “I think what we are is what we are, and we’ve been that way since I’ve been here. So, does that mean a couple of things get tweaked? A couple of things will get tweaked, just the nature of new coordinators […] I want to play man (coverage)—we want to play man. I’m going to pressure a little bit. So, these things are not going to go away, we are what we are.”

With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at some coaches who should be considered candidates for the Lions’ open defensive coordinator position.

Note: Two coaches, with ties to Campbell, who would have been on my list have already taken defensive coordinator jobs with other teams: the Patriots hired Lions DL coach Terrell Williams and the Colts hired former Bengals DC Lou Anarumo.

Internal candidates

Kelvin Sheppard

Lions linebackers coach

The coach many consider the frontrunner for the job, Sheppard has been with Campbell’s staff since the beginning of his tenure with the Lions and has been building toward the next step in his career.

An eight-year NFL linebacker who finished his career in Detroit, Sheppard joined the Lions as a coach in 2021 and quickly asserted himself as one of the smartest minds on the Lions defensive staff. With a no-nonsense approach to coaching that rewards players for how they produce on the field, Sheppard has earned the trust of players and coaches over the past four years.

In the Lions scheme, the linebackers are trusted with understanding all aspects of the defensive scheme/play call and will make necessary adjustments on the field as they see fit. They must work in unison with the defensive line when stopping the run/rushing the passer, while also working seamlessly with the secondary in coverage. Sheppard has done a masterful job of making sure his linebackers are fully prepared and embrace these challenges.

“Having Shep there with me, he’s been there from the beginning, and he knows exactly how I think–-exactly,” Glenn said of Sheppard in December. “And that’s a guy that I’ve been actually mentoring to be in the DC role at some point. I think he’s damn near close, if not there, to be ready to do that. He’s a damn good coach,”

Deshea Townsend

Lions defensive backs coach/Passing game coordinator

A 12-year position coach who has already interviewed for the 49ers defensive coordinator position this offseason, Townsend helped stabilize a remade secondary that had been a problem for years in Detroit.

Under Townsend’s coaching and leadership, the Lions produced an All-Pro safety (Kerby Joseph) who led the NFL in interceptions, a Pro Bowl safety (Brian Branch), started a rookie corner (Terrion Arnold), and adjusted to multiple injuries throughout the season, including to their CB1 (Carlton Davis).

David Corrao

Lions defensive assistant/outside linebackers coach

While many people are likely not familiar with Corrao, he’s been working in NFL circles since 2008 and was on the Dolphins staff the same six seasons as Campbell, including staying with him through his interim head coaching season in 2015. He joined Detroit as their Director of Football Research in 2018 under Matt Patricia, was retained by Campbell in 2021, and shifted to a defensive assistant/outside linebacker coaching role.

Elevating Corrao to this role would be very surprising and would certainly go against traditional paths, but they’ve kept him fluid and on staff for a reason, and he recently received recognition from Glenn when discussing position coaches who helped him quickly acclimate players to the defense.

External candidates with connections to Campbell

Dennis Allen

Former Saints head coach/defensive coordinator

While Allen is a two-time NFL head coach (Saints 2022-24, Raiders 2012-14), he’s most well-known for what he has accomplished as a defensive coordinator. Allen landed in New Orleans in 2015 as their DC, and in 2016 he took Glenn under his wing, and contributed to molding him into the coach he is today. Allen’s relationship with Campbell also grew during this timeframe, but the two crossed paths way before, going back to 1996-98 when Allen was a graduate assistant at Texas A&M and Campbell was a player.

While Allen has been acknowledged as the frontrunner for the Bears DC job, there have been some rumblings that he was also keeping an eye on Detroit’s potential opening leading up to Glenn’s departure.

Jaguars defensive coordinator

I discussed Nielsen’s resume when I broke down the Jaguars scheme in November, noting that he took over assistant head coaching duties after Campbell departed New Orleans, and was elevated to co-defensive coordinator when Allen was promoted to head coach. He took a DC job with the Falcons in 2023 but left over philosophical differences, then took on the DC job in Jacksonville this past season.

While still employed in Jacksonville, Nielsen could be out of a job soon (Jacksonville is currently looking for a new head coach), or could request to interview in Detroit.

Kacy Rodgers

Bucs defensive line coach

Considered Bucs head coach Todd Bowles’ right-hand man, Rodgers crossed paths with Campbell in Miami, when he was the Dolphins’ defensive line coach from 2008-14. Since that time, he’s been Bowles’ defensive line coach with the Jets and Bucs and earned a run game coordinator title back in 2022.

“My biggest mentor when I got into the NFL, I’d have to go with my first position coach, Kacy Rodgers,” former NFL defensive lineman Chris Canty told the 33rd Team. “[…] Kacy Rodgers was really the driving force behind us being able to have so much success early in our pro careers, and a big reason why some of us were able to have sustained success in the NFL. He taught us offensive line protections, he taught us formations, he taught us basic offensive systems. So being able to learn the game from that perspective, learning how to break down the tape – that’s really what allowed us to get our football IQ caught up to our physical abilities.”

Rodgers’ deal with the Bucs has expired and he is exploring his options and has already interviewed with the Green Bay Packers for their open defensive coordinator position.

Al Harris

Cowboys defensive backs coach/assistant head coach

After 15 years playing cornerback in the NFL, Harris got his start coaching in Miami in 2012 as a coaching intern on the same Dolphins staff as Campbell. He eventually worked his way up to be a position coach with the Chiefs but came into his own in Dallas under Commanders head coach Dan Quinn. When Quinn took the job in Washington, he attempted to bring Harris with him, but the Cowboys managed to keep him on staff and added an assistant head coach role to his title.

Like Glenn, he is a high-respected player’s coach and is credited with molding players like DaRon Bland and Trevon Diggs, and helping them earn spots on Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams. With Dallas holding a head coaching search, Harris could be looking for a fresh start and larger opportunities.

Familiar names with an outside chance

Robert Saleh

Former Jets HC, Packers consultant

A Dearborn, Michigan native, Saleh got his start coaching at Michigan State and Central Michigan, where he first crossed coaching paths with Packer head coach Matt LaFleur. His first NFL coaching job came with the Texans before moving on to Seattle in 2011. There he crossed paths with Gus Bradley, whom he followed to Jacksonville, before landing in San Francisco with Kyle Shanahan (LaFleur’s good friend) as the 49ers defensive coordinator, where he helped install a Bradley/Dan Quinn-inspired defense.

Saleh interviewed for the Lions’ head coaching job in 2021 (Campbell got the job) but ended up accepting the Jets head coaching position. Saleh was fired from New York this past season and took a consulting job with the Packers on LaFleur’s staff.

Saleh is a man in high demand. This offseason, he is currently interviewing for head coaching positions with the Jaguars, Raiders, and Cowboys, and has also had an interview with the 49ers for their open defensive coordinator position—a role they’ve struggled to find consistency at since his departure.

Don “Wink” Martindale

Michigan DC

If you ever watched Glenn and thought to yourself, “I wish he’d blitz more,” well then I have the candidate for you. Martindale, known as one of the most aggressive defensive coaches in the NFL, spent the last decade in a half coaching linebackers or working as a defensive coordinator for the Broncos, Ravens, Giants, and Wolverines.

While many college defensive coordinators wouldn’t be immediately considered for an NFL coordinator spot, Martindale’s experience, as well as the pro-style scheme he runs at Michigan, makes him a rare exception.

One of the reasons Martindale’s scheme works so well at Michigan is because it’s the exact same one current Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald installed there. MacDonald learned the system from Martindale and installed it in Ann Arbor in 2021 (the year Aidan Hutchinson broke out and the Lions drafted him with the No. 2 overall pick). Jesse Minter (current Chargers defensive coordinator who also learned under Martindale) kept it in place in 2022-23, and Martindale continued it in 2024.

Sleeper

Christian Parker

Eagles defensive backs coach/passing game coordinator

An up-and-coming young defensive coach, Parker got his start in the NFL with the Packers before joining the Broncos as Vic Fangio’s defensive backs coach. After Fangio was fired and joined the Eagles as their coordinator, Parker eventually followed him to be Philadelphia’s defensive backs coach/passing game coordinator.

“You always want to focus on the job you have, of course, but ultimately my ultimate goal is to be a head coach one day,” Parker said to DenverBroncos.com after participating in the NFL coaching accelerator program. “I’ve said that since I was, like, 12 years old. But you know, of course, it’s always a process with that. Can’t really worry about that down the road, but you always want to be learning and learning from guys like [Head Coach] Sean [Payton] and [Defensive Coordinator] V.J. [Vance Joseph] and things like that, on how to prepare yourself for it when the time comes.”

So far this offseason, Parker has interviewed with the Patriots and Packers for their open defensive coordinator positions.