Amon-Ra St. Brown Sent Strong Message to Those Concerned About Lions New Coordinators

After Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn left Detroit for head coaching positions with the Bears and Jets, the Lions are moving forward with John Morton as their new offensive coordinator and Kelvin Sheppard as their defensive coordinator.

Much has been made of whether the Lions can continue their recent train of success without Johnson and Glenn leading their offensive and defensive units. After all, both coordinators played a critical role in turning the Lions from a consistent cellar dweller to consecutive division champions and one of the league's top contenders.

Both coordinators have prior experience, though. Morton most recently worked as the Broncos' passing game coordinator in 2023-24, but was also a senior offensive assistant under Johnson in 2022.

Sheppard takes on the defensive role after working as the Lions' linebackers coach for the last four seasons. Before that, he had his own NFL career that lasted from 2011-18, and has since worked his way up the coaching ladder.

“It’s not like we’re going from Ben and [Aaron Glenn] to some coaches that don’t know anything. Don’t act like we’re bringing in a scrub," Amon-Ra St. Brown told Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports. "These coaches know ball."

Morton and Sheppard certainly could keep the team's offense and defense humming. The Lions remain one of the more talented squads—particularly on offense—but it's also reasonable for there to be questions about whether there will be a drop-off schematically. Not even as a knock on the new coordinators, but simply as a testament to how good Johnson and Glenn were in their roles before.

Under Johnson, the Lions' offense ranked in the top three in each of the last three seasons, and regularly impressed with its creativity. Glenn, meanwhile, was touted for his leadership and ability to improve the Lions' defense over his time in Detroit.

If Morton and Sheppard can apply some of the lessons they and the team learned from Johnson and Glenn over the last few years, it should go a long way for the Lions moving forward.