The once-beleaguered Detroit Lions franchise suffered for decades and recorded a winless season in their history books, but they have since restored the roar and become a team that opponents fear. Last season did not end as they had hoped as a long list of defensive injuries left them ripe for an upset in the NFC Divisional round. Now, a team whose long-suffering fan base has had to suffer through back-to-back disappointments gets to run it back for a potential third playoff run. The question that needs to be answered is, can they do it with massive changes to the coaching staff?
Brady, Not Belichick Multiverse
The Vultures Come to Feast
The Detroit Lions have enjoyed success over the past two years at a level never before experienced by the franchise. Unfortunately, when a team starts to develop a track record of winning, it doesn’t take the other 31 NFL teams long to come knocking at the door to pillage and plunder all their resources. Just ask the Eagles, Chiefs, Patriots, and 49ers, who have grown accustomed to frequent changes in their coordinators.
For the Lions, both offensive coordinator Ben Johnson (Chicago Bears) and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn (New York Jets) have left the team to become head coaches of their teams. The duo of coordinators were widely regarded as two of the best in the league, and it’s no surprise they will get a chance to be head coaches. The question that leaves the Lions with is: Who was responsible for the team’s newfound success? If you believe it wasn’t the coordinators and was largely due to a talented roster, then this is the multiverse for you.
While Johnson and Glenn were great at their jobs, one could argue that this roster was one of the best in the league and was almost foolproof in their ability to make the playoffs. If you believe that, then you can surely be convinced that this team underachieved massively in the divisional round and that the coordinators certainly were not worthy of their lofty accolades.
New Faces to Guide the Squad
The team quickly pivoted to two new faces as coordinators, one from in-house and one from outside the team. John Morton was brought in as the team’s offensive coordinator after serving as the passing game coordinator for the Denver Broncos from 2023 to 2024. That experience in itself may not have Morton as the sexiest of hires, but with the efficiency he accomplished with rookie quarterback Bo Nix, it stands to reason that he can be a solid coordinator with Jared Goff, who features a similar skillset to that of Nix.
On the defensive side of the ball, Glenn was replaced with Kelvin Sheppard, who previously served as the team’s linebackers coach. It stands to reason that an internal hire on the defensive side of the ball shows the Lion’s intention to run a similar offense to that of his predecessor, Glenn. The team will return largely the same roster, and with an in-house defensive coordinator, this Lions defense could show significant improvement, especially if the key players at the top of the depth chart stay healthy.
In this multiverse, Sheppard gets a healthy defense that picks up where they left off last season and pairs that with a high-flying offense that doesn’t skip a beat, even with a new offensive coordinator. If you believe the players are ultimately the ones responsible for winning the games, then you should have the Detroit Lions high up in your power rankings once again. This multiverse is for the fantasy managers who believe it was Tom Brady and not Bill Belichick who was responsible for the Patriots dynasty.
Belichick, Not Brady Multiverse
A Loaded Roster
This multiverse is the flip side of that coin and is for the believers in Belichick over Brady. This is a scenario in which the players are simply so talented that they could be led by any coordinator. The Detroit Lions boast one of the most talented rosters of offensive skill position players of any team in the league. The running back duo of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery are easily the best in football, while the pass-catching duo of receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and tight end Sam LaPorta make them a high-flying show run by quarterback Jared Goff.
One could argue that an offense with that much talent was too good to miss the playoffs and will continue to score at will, even with a new offensive coordinator. Although Morton isn’t as high-profile as Ben Johnson, this elite running game remains almost gameplan-proof and can carry the offense even if his passing game scheme falls short.
The King of The Hill
The other possibility in this scenario is that even if you believe that coaches matter, it’s possible that the Lions’ success was a result of their head coach, Dan Campbell, and not the coordinators. The main thing that allowed the Lions to restore the roar and kill of the “Same Ol’ Lions” moniker was Dan Campbell. Campbell may not be the best head coach where X’s and O’s are concerned, but anyone with eyes can see that he has built a culture of winning with a roster full of players that would run through a brick wall for him.
Even with a mass influx of new faces scattered throughout this coaching staff, the head at the top remains the same, and that is probably the one that matters most. The Detroit Lions could easily go on without missing a beat and run it back for a lengthy playoff run as they bite kneecaps on their way to the Super Bowl.
A Healthy Defense Multiverse
Greetings From the Infirmary
Regardless of whether you believe the coordinators were responsible for the Lions’ success or not, we can all agree on one thing: They were one of the most injury-plagued teams in the league last season. The Detroit Lions fought through serious injuries leading up to and during their divisional playoff round loss to Washington. Some of the more notable injuries included Aidan Hutchinson, David Montgomery, Alex Anzalone, Ifeatu Melifonwu, and even Jared Goff, who made a brief appearance in the blue tent at one point.
The Lions had to play through a significant number of injuries, and the defense, in particular, looked like a shell of what it was in Week 1. If the Lions can avoid a similar unlucky injury fate in 2025, it stands to reason that this defensive unit could be good enough to keep the Lions on the winning side of the 30-30 shootouts.
Developing Young Talent
Detroit saw great success in the NFL Draft through the beginning of Brad Holmes‘s tenure, but that took a step back in last year’s draft, which saw a much lower hit rate. The most glaring example of this was their first-round pick, Terrion Arnold. They selected the Alabama cornerback 24th overall, and although he showed mountains of potential, he sometimes looked lost and frequently received flags for being too handsy in coverage.
The Lions doubled down on the cornerback position in the second round when they drafted Missouri’s Ennis Rakestraw Jr. His failure in Year One can be attributed to injuries, as his rookie season was mostly a wash. The injuries were not the fault of Holmes, but provided no return on his investment regardless.
Beyond the first two rounds, the Lions made an additional four selections who all provided limited special teams production at best. If the Lions are going to make a third straight run into the NFL playoffs, they are going to need their two young cornerbacks to step into the lineup and produce consistently. They will also need some production from the bottom end of last year’s draft class, as well as the rookies they select at this year’s draft.
The Lions are going to be one of the most mysterious teams going into 2025, and depending on which multiverse you buy into, you could have them as Super Bowl contenders or on the outside looking in. Only time and coaching will tell.
