The Detroit Lions are busy securing interviews to address their opening at offensive coordinator as more names are linked to the franchise with every passing day. However, the additions to Dan Campbell's staff are not the only thing the front office should be concerned with as we move into the offseason.
Despite missing out on the postseason this year, Detroit established itself as one of the top teams in the NFC. With that comes other franchises looking to poach members of the coaching staff to improve their own chances of success. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are doing just that after completing a virtual interview with Lions passing game coordinator David Shaw on Saturday as they look to fill their own opening at OC.
Lions' David Shaw Among Buccaneers' OC Targets
Shaw only joined Campbell's staff at the start of the 2025 season, but he is a name that generated interest in NFL circles on an annual basis during his 11-year tenure as the head coach at Stanford University from 2011 to 2022.
While Shaw elected to pass on the NFL on several occasions during that run, he returned to the professional level as a senior executive with the Denver Broncos in 2024 before becoming Detroit's passing game coordinator this past season. Now that he has taken the opportunity to speak with Tampa Bay about their offensive coordinator opening, Lions fans should be worried about losing one of the main voices in Jared Goff's ear.
The reality of the situation is that this is a scenario Campbell should have been preparing for from the moment Shaw accepted the job. To think that he would have been long for a passing game coordinator position, given all he has accomplished in coaching, was a pipe dream.
Conventional wisdom would lead fans to believe that the passing game coordinator will be decided on after the Lions address their vacancy at offensive coordinator. If Shaw is offered, and subsequently accepts, the job in Tampa Bay, then the puzzle that Campbell and Brad Holmes must piece together on the offensive coaching staff becomes a bit more complicated.
The fortunate part of this for Detroit is that the Lions have all the requisite talent at the skill positions on offense to make these jobs, should both ultimately come open, very appealing to coaches in the professional and college ranks who could be looking to make a career move. Nothing is set in stone, but these are the conversations that need to take place, just in case something does happen.