The Detroit Lions knew Kelvin Sheppard was going to be a defensive coordinator one day soon, so they started preparation as early as possible.
Kelvin Sheppard’s ascent to Detroit Lions defensive coordinator happened quickly, but don’t tell him his coaching career is young.
“I keep hearing that, ‘Still so young.’ And I say, ‘What does that mean? Are we talking my age, or are we talking about experience in the profession that I work in?’ Because I’ve been doing this since I was five years old,” Sheppard said at the NFL Combine this week. “So if you say my age, I think that’s a blessing because I can do this another 30 years. But if you’re talking about just my experience in the field of football, I think I’m just as knowledgeable as anybody that’s 60 or 70 years old.”
While I understand Sheppard’s sentiment, it is fascinating to see how quickly he has climbed the coaching ladder. His eight-year playing career—when coincidentally ended in Detroit—is not even seven years old. And in just four years in Detroit, he went from his first position coaching job—outside linebackers coach—to defensive coordinator in an instant.
Beyond that, Sheppard showed so much progress in those first couple years that head coach Dan Campbell took notice and, with the help of Aaron Glenn, immediately put him on the track to eventually become a defensive coordinator—without ever promising him the job down the line.
“About two years ago, I just felt like, ‘Man, this guy will be ready to be a coordinator sooner than later,’” Campbell said. “So, AG and I had talked about it and tried to give him more responsibility over the last two years.”
Sheppard provided more insight into what that looked like, particularly when it came to game-planning this past season.
“I had a heavy hand in first- and second-down game planning last year,” Sheppard said. “That’s something AG put on my plate going into the 2024 season, and he made no mystery about why he was doing it. Again, that’s something he didn’t have to do. And just the trajectory and the outlook they had for me—I had aspirations, but for other people to see that stuff for you and try to put you in a position to get there, that’s why I owe those guys everything.”
Sheppard will also have some extra help along the way that he plans on utilizing. Detroit’s defensive coaching staff features two former NFL defensive coordinators (Jim O’Neil, Kacy Rodgers) and one at the college level (David Corrao).
“They’ve done it (and) they’re open books[..] These guys not having egos, telling me where they messed up,” Sheppard told Dannie Rogers this week. “Kacy Rodgers has been Todd Bowles’ right-hand man 10 years, and everybody knows the brilliant mind Bowles is. They don’t know Kacy was behind a lot of that madness. Just things he’s brought for the front-end already. It’s been outstanding.”
Sheppard also mentioned mentors outside the Lions organization who he keeps in constant contact, including legendary coaches like Lou Anarumo, Chuck Pagano, and Steve Spagnuolo.
One of the biggest challenges facing Sheppard in his new role is play-calling. He was never in an official play-calling role under Glenn, but he did develop his own process during the week, where he’d replay a game and call out the appropriate play based on the offensive formation—and encourage his players to do the same.
“At first, I was doing it on my own in my free time, and then I kind of started doing it with my players,” Sheppard explained. ‘And I mentioned it to Dan. And he was like, ‘Oh, that’s pretty cool. That’s a good idea.’ And then [Shaun Dion Hamilton] started giving me feedback, and Ham’s like, ‘Man, I started doing this, Shep.’ At the end of the week, I just pull up games and call the games myself just for fun. Like, why not? I firmly believe, don’t wait until you get the call to be ready, make sure you’re ready when you get the call.”
Despite all the preparation and work that has gone into preparing Sheppard from this moment, he does recognize how fortunate he is to be in this position, and, yes, he understands that doesn’t come easy for many people his age.
“Guys spend 25 years in this profession and don’t get this opportunity. I’m not blind to that fact, either. I’m very grateful,” Sheppard said. “I do believe this was earned. But you can earn a lot of things, you can go out and put the work in and not get put in a position that I’ve been put in. So, I owe everything to Dan.