Detroit Lions linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard watches practice during OTAs at Detroit Lions headquarters in Allen Park on Thursday, June 1, 2023. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

How Kelvin Sheppard Can Improve in 2026

Originally posted on Detroit Lions on SI | By Vito Chirco | Last updated Jul 16, 2026 8:59 AM ET

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Kelvin Sheppard will be entering his second season as Lions defensive coordinator in 2026.

It was effectively a mixed bag of results for Sheppard in his first year as an NFL play-caller. And most notably, the defense regressed from the seventh-best unit in 2024 (20.1 points allowed per game) to the 11th-worst unit in 2025 (24.3 points/game).

And the defense’s diminished productivity certainly played a significant role in Detroit’s decline from a 15-win team in 2024 to a nine-win team which missed out on the playoffs last season.

Sheppard will be tasked with getting the defense back on track this upcoming season. And if he does, Dan Campbell’s squad will likely return to the postseason.

The biggest area where Sheppard can improve is becoming more flexible with his defensive scheme. A season ago, Detroit was far too reliant upon deploying its traditional 4-3 base scheme even when opposing offenses dictated a different look.

Headed into 2026, Sheppard should utilize the Lions' hybrid defensive backs more often, putting the defense in better position to handle the league’s pass-dominant offenses.

Another important step to take for the second-year play-caller is to coach the defense as one cohesive unit rather than coaching each position group independently.

He seems to be headed in that direction, too, with Campbell noting as much during OTAs.

“I think he is much more comfortable,” Campbell said of Sheppard headed into his second season as coordinator. “I think he's got a much better grasp of how he wants it to look. Now he's coaching all of it, he's coaching the front, he's coaching the backers and he's coaching the back end. He sees it all.

“And that's what happens when you're able to do it. You go through a season, you go through the practices, you kind of key and diagnose yourself as a play-caller and as a, 'Hey, this is where we can get a little bit better.’ I love where Shep is at right now.”

While Sheppard is certainly no finished product as a coach, he has a chance to take a major step forward in his second year as coordinator.

If he becomes a more flexible play-caller who increasingly gets the most out of Detroit's personnel, the Lions should end up in prime position to contend for the NFC North crown and return to the playoffs in 2026.

This article first appeared on Detroit Lions on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: