On Thursday, the Detroit Lions’ three coordinators took the podium for the final time in the team’s 2025 season. Here are my biggest takeaways from each.
Offensive coordinator John Morton
John Morton wants to stay in 2026
After having his play-calling duties stripped midseason, it’s hard to know what’s next for offensive coordinator John Morton. If it were up to Morton, he’d still remain at the same position, even if that means continuing to not call plays for the offense.
“I’d like to be here, yeah. I love it here. I love Dan (Campbell),
I love the organization, it’s my home,” Morton said Thursday.
Morton admitted he does still want to call plays at the NFL level, but said he loves the responsibilities of his current role with the team, as well.
“I told you guys before I’m a team player. I’ll do whatever it takes, at this point in my career,” Morton said. “Whatever Dan wants, I do. So, I’m here to help him help this team win and that’s what I’ve done. I’m proud of some of the work that I’ve done, obviously. So, that’s kind of where I’m at with that.”
Optimism about establishing the run vs. the Bears
It’s been a rough go for the Lions’ rushing offense over the past few weeks, with the Lions failing to reach 75 rushing yards in three straight games. However, Morton believes they have an advantage this week against a Bears run defense that is allowing an average of 135 rushing yards per game and 5.0 yards per carry.
“I think we can get after these guys a little bit, I really do,” Morton said. “They’re giving up almost five yards a carry, so I like our chances there with this defense. So, I like the matchup here, and I liked it the first game.”
Back in Week 2, the Lions rushed 30 times for 177 yards and two touchdowns on their way to a 52-21 victory over Chicago.
Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard
Note: We have a separate article on Sheppard’s defense of his scheme here.
Losing their “Angel in the Outfield”
Sheppard was asked about the impact of losing both starting safeties—Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph—to injuries. Before he got into the the positional impact, he noted that any time a team loses two All-Pro level players, it’s going to hurt them. That said, Sheppard wasn’t about to throw their replacements under the bus, noting that they did compete.
“Some games, those guys stepped up and played at a high level. And other games, unfortunately we weren’t able to make plays at the point of attack and we gave up a few more explosive plays than we would like to,” Sheppard said. “So, I’m not going to sit here and say that’s the reason why this, that or the fourth happened. But I will say whenever you lose All-Pro caliber players, it’s going to affect you in some capacity.”
Sheppard also lamented the fact that Detroit’s ability to create turnovers dipped as the season went on, and noted that losing Joseph—someone who has created 20 interceptions in 52 starts—certainly played a part.
“‘Why are we giving up these explosives?’ And you don’t want to pinpoint it on a player, but in previous years that’s been guys beating coverage and Kerby’s been kind of the angel in the outfield where we weren’t as exposed as we have been as of late,” Sheppard said.
The scheme continues to evolve
I didn’t include it in the separate piece, but I think it’s worth highlighting what Sheppard pointed to about the evolution of the scheme here in Detroit. The idea that it’s always been the same since Aaron Glenn took over the defense is fundamentally not true. Sheppard offered a bit of a history lesson.
“The good thing that I’ve been involved in here is a kind of evolving system. Started out first year in a true 3-4 (defense), then we went to a hybrid kind of over front in 2022, then jumped back to kind of a blend of both worlds,” Sheppard said. “So, I’ve been exposed and have a lot of knowledge in all types of systems and what we’ve created here collectively as a system where we’re able to adapt and adjust on the run, week-to-week. And I’ll say again, I believe we’ve done that.”
Special teams coordinator Dave Fipp
Kalif Raymond living on the edge
Lions punt returner Kalif Raymond has fielded several punts this year inside his own 10-yard line, leading many to wonder why he isn’t letting those kicks go for their chance at a touchback. I asked Fipp if he could provide any insight into this—suggesting that maybe Raymond had earned the right as an All-Pro returner to make those decisions.
Fipp, instead, said that he would always rather his team lean on the side of aggression when it comes to punt returns because you never know how the ball is going to bounce when it is landing inside the 10-yard line.
“Well you could always argue it. ‘Well, it would’ve been a touchback.’ Well, maybe it wouldn’t,” Fipp said. “Maybe they would’ve pinned us on the one if you let it bounce […] You could always play that game. But yeah, I would prefer to put the ball in our hands and be aggressive than let’s see which way the ball bounces and maybe today it’ll bounce our way and tomorrow it won’t.”
Sione Vaki’s outstanding year
Fipp was asked if there was anyone who has exceeded expectations this year, and the one player his singled out was Sione Vaki. Despite battling through multiple injuries this season, Fipp believes he’s still having a special season.
“Vaki has really had a great year for us,” Fipp said. “And I mean he’s just a unique athlete. Explosive, powerful, strong, he’s an offender technically. I know he played both in college but his ability to make tackles and play in coverage is exceptional for that position of running back. And so, he’s been a great player for us this season. I think he’s had a really good year.”
