The Detroit Lions came into the 2025 season with plenty of questions, including the installation of new defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard. Replacing former DC Aaron Glenn, many wondered if the Lions’ defense would have the same bite it had before a wave of injuries depleted it late in the 2024 season and if Sheppard was ready for the job after an onboarding process that began when he joined Dan Campbell’s staff in 2021.
Sheppard has answered those questions with flying colors. The Lions' defense ranks 12th with 21.6 points allowed per game and eighth with 5.0 yards per play allowed through their first seven games of the season. This is also impressive considering Sheppard’s unit has been without several playmakers, including defensive tackle Alim McNeill and cornerbacks DJ Reed and Terrion Arnold.
With that success, Sheppard is already being mentioned as a head coaching candidate. But what Lions fans might not expect is a collegiate program to come calling, which could be the case if LSU tabs Sheppard after firing Brian Kelly this weekend.
Lions DC Kelvin Sheppard Mentioned as Surprising Candidate to Replace Brian Kelly at LSU
Kelly was fired on Sunday after a 49-25 loss at home to Texas A&M. While Kelly had a record of 34-14 over four seasons with the Tigers, the loss dropped LSU to 5-3 on the season and inspired Director of Athletics Scott Woodward to make a change at the top of the program, citing the need to find “an outstanding leader, teacher and coach, who fits our culture and community and who embraces the excellence that we demand,” in a statement announcing Kelly’s dismissal on Sunday night.
Those qualifications seem to fit Sheppard to a tee. Before he became a coach, Sheppard was a standout for the Tigers, racking up 311 total tackles, 26.0 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, and two interceptions during his four seasons with the program. He went on to play eight seasons in the NFL but didn’t pursue a coaching career until he retired after the 2018 season and eventually joined the LSU staff as director of player development to begin his coaching journey in 2020.
Sheppard joined the Lions the following season as an outside linebackers coach and has worked his way up to defensive coordinator, but his fingerprints are all over the Lions' defense. A 2022 clip on Hard Knocks showed Sheppard holding veterans accountable as sixth-round rookie Malcolm Rodriguez outperformed them during training camp, and Sheppard’s no-nonsense style has resonated with the Lions as they’ve become a championship-caliber defense.
If you were to ask Sheppard about the LSU job, he would likely insist his focus is on helping the Lions win the Super Bowl. There’s also a chance that if he accomplishes that goal, he could land a head coaching job as soon as this January, paving a path for his ascent to continue.
But there’s also an argument that a collegiate job may be a better path forward. Outside of the sky-high expectations where a few losses could cost a coach their job, it’s also a more lucrative position than a head coaching job in the NFL. Case in point? LSU is paying Brian Kelly $54 million in buyout money not to coach them anymore, whereas someone like Aaron Glenn could be simply looking for a coordinator position if he’s fired by the New York Jets.
With the NFL schedule, it would also be difficult for LSU to interview Sheppard – especially since the Lions just had their bye week. But Lukas Klotz of Crunch Time Sports noted that Sheppard knows how to build a successful culture after learning under Campbell and former LSU alum Breiden Fehoko, who won a national championship with the Tigers in 2019, has already vouched for Sheppard to be a candidate.
Whether that materializes remains to be seen, but Sheppard’s stock has gone from unknown to hot head coaching candidate in a matter of months, and it could lead him to take a surprising next step by the end of the season.