Kelvin Sheppard on Path to Becoming Coordinator, NFL Head Coach

Linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard has been given more responsibilities.

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn believe one of their position coaches is on the trajectory for bigger things in his coaching career. 

Linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard has been given added responsibilities heading into the 2023 season. 

“Well, he’s earned that. He’s earned that,” Campbell said last week at minicamp. "I feel like Shep, the more we put on Shep, the more he answers the call. And, he’s developing as a coach. We see growth, no different than the players. You want to see growth from your coaches. And so, (Aaron Glenn) AG and I talked, and we felt like it was time to put more on him, especially this year.”

A former third-round pick, the former NFL linebacker was among the early hires that Campbell felt embodied what the organization should be about. 

“It definitely helps, because he’s been in our shoes before. He knows how it is, he knows how the NFL works, he tells us what they’re talking about up there with the general manager, head coach seeing all of us," Malcolm Rodriguez said last season. "He keeps it real with us, and all the guys appreciate that about him.”

Should Glenn find an opportunity elsewhere, Sheppard would likely be considered as an in-house candidate to replace him as the team's next defensive coordinator. 

“I think Shep is a young, promising coach. I think he can be a coordinator one day, and I think he can be a head coach one day. I think he’s got that type of potential, so the time is right," Campbell continued.