After losing in the Divisional Round following two strong seasons in a row, Lions HC Dan Campbell said he expects both OC Ben Johnson and DC Aaron Glenn to take head coaching jobs elsewhere for next season.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter listed the following in-house candidates as potential replacements should their coordinators get promotions for 2025:
- Assistant HC/RB coach Scottie Montgomery
- Passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand
- LB coach Kelvin Sheppard
Montgomery, 44, began his coaching career as Duke’s WRs coach from 2006-2009. He was hired to the same position with the Steelers from 2010-2012 before returning as Duke’s offensive coordinator for a few years.
He was East Carolina’s head coach from 2016-2018 and was hired to become Maryland’s WRs coach for two years. He signed with the Colts as the RB coach in 2021.
From there, the Lions hired Montgomery as their assistant head coach and running backs coach in February of 2023.
Engstrand, 41, began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of San Diego in 2005-2006 and earned several promotions to running backs coach, quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator and eventually assistant head coach from 2013-2017.
He was hired as Michigan’s offensive analyst in 2018 before becoming the DC Defenders’ offensive coordinator in 2020 of the UFL. He made his NFL coaching debut as the Lions’ offensive assistant from 2021 and was promoted to tight ends coach in 2022.
Detroit promoted him to passing game coordinator before the 2023 season.
Sheppard, 37, was a linebacker in the NFL from 2011-2018 for the Bills, Colts, Dolphins, Giants, Bears and Lions.
He was a Director of player development in 2020 for LSU before joining the Lions’ staff as an OLB coach in 2021. He moved to inside LB coach in 2022 where he has served since.
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