Dan Campbell 'not talking about' moving on from Lions DC Kelvin Sheppard

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After another thrashing at the hands of his defense in a 32-26 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Oct. 4, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell said he isn't ready to talk about the possibility of moving on from defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard.

With the Lions giving up 31.8 points per game through their first four games en route to a 2-2 record, Campbell said, "I'm not talking about all that," when asked how many more of these performances he can take before considering a change at defensive coordinator.

"I'm not talking about all that. I'm talking about getting better right now with what we've got, and that's what we're gonna do," Campbell said. "We're gonna find a way to get better with what we have."

It wouldn't be unprecedented for Campbell to make this time of move. He took over play-calling duties from former offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn in the second half of the 2021 season and saw dividends paid as the offense turned things around and the team finished 3-3. In 2022, he fired defensive backs coach and passing game Aubrey Pleasant , leading to a turnaround with the secondary.

And just last season, he relieved former offensive coordinator John Morton of his play-calling duties after the unit was plagued with inconsistency following the departure of Ben Johnson.

Campbell said he reserves the right to consider a change down the line and will always do what he thinks is best for the team.

"I'm gonna always do what's right by this team, what I truly believe is the best thing and the right thing to do, always. I'm always going to do that, man," Campbell said. "That's the most important thing is what's right for the players, man, and what gives us the best opportunity to win."

Right now, the defense isn't giving the Lions a chance to win. They've held an opposing offense under 30 points just once through four games — and they allowed 24 points in that game, a win over the New York Jets in Week 3 — as the offense, though it hasn't been perfect, has largely been able to uphold its end of the bargain.

Multiple Lions players followed their head coach's lead and gave Sheppard a vote of confidence but acknowledged that something needs to change.

"I've been with Shep for years now, man," Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson said. "As an assistant and now as a coordinator for the past two years now — I have the utmost faith in him. I think we have the utmost faith in him. But yeah, definitely, we have to evolve as a defense, and we have to grow. Because we can't keep putting our offense in these shootout-like games. It just puts stress on them. We've just got to do better as a unit. I think we all ... support Shep fully."

Lions cornerback D.J. Reed, who's been at the center of Detroit's struggles in the secondary, said, "It's not a coaching thing."

"It's a players thing. This game comes down to winning one-on-ones, and that's what we gotta do as a whole collective unit," Reed said. "In the secondary, we haven't been doing that. So we just got to be better."

Lions linebacker Jack Campbell, one of Detroit's defensive captains, said, "It starts with the players," when asked about his confidence in Sheppard.

"We're out there and we make the scheme come alive, so honestly, put it on me. Put it on the players," Jack Campbell said. "But I mean, Shep — he works hard, Dan believes in him, I believe in him. He's made of the right stuff. We're gonna get this figured out. We just gotta stay the course, stick together, because right now, it's us versus everybody. I'll state the obvious: we're not playing very good defensively, and we gotta fix it."

The Lions have one more game until the bye in Week 6, which would be the optimal time to make a change at coordinator, if that were to happen.