New Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard sounds like the exact type of coach you'd expect on Dan Campbell's staff in Detroit.
Elevated from linebackers coach to DC with the departure of Aaron Glenn to New York, Sheppard told that his No. 1 philosophy on defense is that players play "together and for one another."
"So that togetherness and so many things trickle from there. Absolutely relentless effort -- non-negotiable," Sheppard said. "That's things I say: The coaches aren't coaching effort. You'll stand out if you're lax on this defense. And then just nasty, tenacious, finishing, scratching, clawing, fighting for every blade of grass that's out there. And I think if we're able to do those things, everything else -- you notice I didn't say one stat. I didn't say one accolade. Because if you do all those things and you focus on those things, then the bigger picture things will come from that. But that, to me, will be the DNA of who we are as a unit."
Following an eight-year career as a linebacker, Sheppard got his first coaching job under Campbell in 2021. He's risen from outside linebackers coach to linebackers coach to DC in five years. It's a swift ascent, especially for an assistant sans play-calling experience.
Sheppard believes the experience on his defensive staff -- including new defensive line coach/run game coordinator Kacy Rodgers, who has previous DC stints -- will help him grow into the role.
The 37-year-old said that, despite his linebacker experience, he wants everything on his defense to emanate up front.
"Everything you do on defense starts with the front," Sheppard said. "Just look at the final guys in the championship game. And everybody knows. This is not [as if] I'm telling some secret. It starts with the trenches in both the run and pass game. Everybody is so pass-happy nowadays, but if you really watch these games, it's a lot of people going back to the roots of football, and that's toughness in the trenches. You better have that. It starts there. I always say, 'You have to earn the right to rush the passer.' It doesn't matter if you can get off the ball and be this glorified DPR, pass-rushing type player if you don't earn the right to get to those pass-rushing downs. So, just making sure we find that fine balance in guys that can play the run and the pass, and just making sure they gel with who we want to be because that supersedes everything."
Injuries ravaged the Lions in 2024, and the focus this offseason should be rebuilding that D-line to provide more oomph and depth behind Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeill when they return healthy.
