The Detroit Lions' 2025 season is officially off the rails after a 23-10 Christmas Day loss to the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Undoubtedly, heads are about to roll in the 313 this offseason.
One of them may be Kelvin Sheppard. In a must-win game for the team's playoff chances, Sheppard's defensive miscues late laid the runway for the Vikings to score 10 points in the fourth quarter and put the game away. And it was done in the way Sheppard promised wouldn't happen.
Before the Minnesota loss, Sheppard stood on, specifically, no team running the ball down his defense's throats.
"I can stand on the table behind this — nobody has just lined up and ran the ball down our throats," Sheppard said last week, according to A to Z Sports' Mike Payton.
Then, receiver Jordan Addison broke for a 65-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that ended Detroit's season by officially eliminating the Lions from NFC postseason contention. Addison's game-breaking play clinched three straight 150-yard rushing performances from Detroit's opponents. It also put the Lions in position to finish last place in the division.
Dan Campbell Must Fire Kelvin Sheppard to Send Message on Defense
It's been a massive step back for the team following Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn's departures to the Chicago Bears and New York Jets, respectively. Certainly, Sheppard and John Morton are not hot-head coaching candidates set to be hired away imminently.
In fact, if Dan Campbell wants to keep his job, he may want to consider another massive overhaul in the other direction.
Firing Sheppard would send a clear statement: Campbell won't accept a defense that makes life harder for an offense struggling to find its identity. With play-calling duties being shifted from Morton to Campbell, and Jared Goff's uneven play under center, that side of the ball is far from sorted.
You can win in the NFL some weeks with a stifling defense putting your offense and special teams in good positions, though. You can't win in the NFL when opposing offenses are routinely running over you, setting you up to be burned on both sides of the ball during weeks you're not facing Max Brosmer.
It only makes it worse considering that the Vikings finished with just three total passing yards in this game but still found ways to put points on the board.
Too much works against Detroit right now for there to be any sustainable winning. If Campbell wants to prove to ownership that he is capable of leading this team back to its previous postseason heights, making changes on the fly is the best way to do that.
There are two coordinator changes that should probably happen. Morton's fate was likely sealed a while ago, but Sheppard may have done himself in over the last few weeks by his defense not cashing checks his mouth wrote.