A deep look into new Detroit Lions DL coach Kacy Rodgers, his profile, his influences, and what his former players are saying about him.
As the Detroit Lions build out their new coaching staff for the 2025 season, we’re going to take in-depth looks at the newcomers. Thus far, there is just a single external hire that’s reportedly been made: defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers.
Let’s dive into Rodgers’ past to see what the Lions are getting in their new defensive line coach.
Resume:
- 1994-96: Tennessee-Martin DL coach
- 1997: Tennessee-Martin DL coach + assistant head coach
- 1998: Northeast Louisiana DL coach
- 1999: Middle Tennessee State DL coach
- 2000-01: Middle Tennessee State DL coach + assistant head coach
- 2002: Arkansas DL coach
- 2003-04: Dallas Cowboys DTs coach
- 2005-07: Dallas Cowboys DL coach
- 2008-14: Miami Dolphins DL coach
- 2015-18: New York Jets defensive coordinator
- 2019-21: Tampa Bay Buccaneers DL coach
- 2022-24: Tampa Bay Buccaneers DL coach + run game coordinator
Rodgers has literally over 30 years of experience coaching defensive linemen, and even had a four-year stint as a defensive coordinator with the Jets. For the past decade, he’s been one of Todd Bowles’ most trusted coaches, spending those four years with him in New York, then traveling with him to Tampa Bay to coach for the past six seasons. Interestingly, despite being a defensive-minded head coach, Bowles allowed Rodgers to call the defensive plays for the Jets starting in middle of the 2017 season. Bowles now calls plays for the Buccaneers—although Rodgers did call plays for a preseason game this past year . The two also overlapped in Miami from 2008-11, with Bowles serving as the assistant head coach/secondary coach during that time.
Perhaps most notably, Dan Campbell spent time with both coaches while a part of the Dolphins’ staff from 2010-15. In fact, Campbell, while a tight end for the Dallas Cowboys from 2003-05, crossed paths with Rodgers when he was coaching the defensive line at the time.
One last interesting connection: Rodgers spent some time with former Lions DL coach John Scott Jr., who lasted just a season in Detroit. Scott was with the Jets from 2015-16, and both Aaron Glenn and Dan Campbell mentioned how it was Rodgers who helped recommend Scott for the job.
Campbell:
“I actually knew about him from Bowles and Kacy Rodgers who, out there at Tampa, with Todd, he was with them at the Jets. He was a young coach, he was an assistant D-line coach and I’ve got a ton of respect for Todd Bowles and Kacy, both. I coached with them in Miami years ago, and I know they know what they’re talking about.”
Glenn:
“John Scott was at the Jets when I was there as a scout, so we knew each other then. Todd Bowles is a really good friend of mine, really good friend, and he was there with him also as a coach. And then Kacy Rodgers is another good friend of mine.”
Production
First, just look at the impressive list of players he has worked with throughout his career: La’Roi Glover, DeMarcus Ware, Marcus Spears, Cameron Wake, Olivier Vernon, Shaquil Barrett, Vita Vea, Calijah Kancey.
In terms of his unit’s production, there’s a long lineage of success, particularly when it comes to stopping the run. (top-five units are bolded)
Dallas Cowboys (2003-07) — DT/DL coach
- 2003: 2nd in points allowed, 5th in YPC, 21st in sacks
- 2004: 27th in points allowed, 17th in YPC, 26th in sacks
- 2005: 12th in points allowed, 24th in YPC, 14th in sacks
- 2006: 20th in points allowed, 8th in YPC, 21st in sacks
- 2007: 13th in points allowed, 14th in YPC, 3rd in sacks
Miami Dolphins (2008-14) — DL coach
- 2008: 9th in points allowed, 19th in YPC, 8th in sacks
- 2009: 26th in points allowed, 15th in YPC, 5th in sacks
- 2010: 14th in points allowed, 3rd in YPC, 10th in sacks
- 2011: 6th in points allowed, 3rd in YPC, 13th in sacks
- 2012: 7th in points allowed, 10th in YPC, 7th in sacks
- 2013: 8th in points allowed, 18th in YPC, 12th in sacks
- 2014: 20th in points allowed, 21st in YPC, 16th in sacks
New York Jets (2015-18) — Defensive coordinator
- 2015: 9th in points allowed, 3rd in YPC, 13th in sacks
- 2016: 28th in points allowed, 5th in YPC, 29th in sacks
- 2017: 24th in points allowed, 11th in YPC, 28th in sacks
- 2018: 29h in points allowed, 19th in YPC, 18th in sacks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2019-24) — DL coach + run game coordinator (22-24)
- 2019: 29th in points allowed, 1st in YPC, 23rd in sacks
- 2020: 8th in points allowed, 1st in YPC, 5th in sacks
- 2021: 5th in points allowed, 16th in YPC, 7th in sacks
- 2022: 13th in points allowed, 22nd in YPC, 8th in sacks
- 2023: 7th in points allowed, 8th in YPC, 9th in sacks
- 2024: 16th in points allowed, 9th in YPC, 7th in sacks
This last stint, in particular, has been fruitful for Rodgers. He’s produced top-10 run defenses (by YPC) in four of his last six years, and a defense ranked top 10 in sacks for five straight seasons. In 2020—when the Bucs won the Super Bowl—Rodgers was named the John Teerlinck Defensive Line Coach of the Year, as voted on by coaches across the league.
By DVOA (only goes back to 2020), Rodgers’ run defense has ranked: 1st, 9th, 14th, 8th, and sixth.
That said, his stop as the defensive coordinator with the Jets is certainly a black eye on his resume. They went from a top-10 unit in his first year to a bottom five unit in his last season. Obviously, that was still Todd Bowles’ defensive scheme, but Rodgers took on more duties as time went on, including play-calling duties for the back half of 2017 and all of 2018. It’s certainly worth noting, though, that the Jets offense offered little help during that span, ranking between 23rd and 30th for the final three years of that four-year span.
Still, considering Rodgers’ best production came from his most recent job, there is reason for optimism in Detroit.
Quotes from people he’s worked with
“I would say my defensive line coach, coach Kacy, he always harp[s] on us, making sure we have violent hands, making sure that we’re winning the rub even if we didn’t make the play [and] just not being uncomfortable with other guys having their hands on us, because it could become a bad habit, and that’s something that you don’t want.”
Former Cowboys EDGE Chris Canty :
“My biggest mentor when I got into the NFL, I’d have to go with my first position coach, Kacy Rodgers. I know it seems a little strange to think of your position coach as a mentor. But when I came into the league, I was in a draft class with DeMarcus Ware, Marcus Spears, Jay Ratliff and Kevin Burnett. There were five front-seven guys, and we had a chance to grow together. 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.”
“I think what separates him is he wants all of his defensive linemen to be smarter than just the average d-lineman. It’s a challenge every day, but he really—whenever you think you’re good, he reminds you that you can go a little more and you can learn a little more. I think that’s really what separates him, and kinda shocked me. Because to see how smart Vita Vea and (Ndamukong) Suh and Will (Gholston) were and really knowing the entire defense. He challenges us every day.”
You better believe the world gone know him after this Super Bowl coverage https://t.co/80lItt01Ua
— Marcus Spears (@mspears96) January 27, 2021
Other notable items:
- In 2018, Rodgers missed a game as the Jets defensive coordinator with a “serious” illness. The defense wanted to win the game for him, and they did 34-16 .
- Buccaneers fans are not happy about losing Rodgers:
- Here’s an interesting video of Rodgers breaking down his 2024-25 season:
What I found particularly enlightening was Rodgers talking about his duties as run game coordinator:
“To me, having that title is one of the biggest joys I’ve had in coaching. When we go into each week, going into prep, the first thing after we go through the—coach goes through the install, ‘this is what we’re putting in,’ going through the personnel—I’m the first one up. It’s the first thing we talk about is the run game. So I’m the first one presenting to the whole defense.”