Lions Should Fire Both Coordinators

The Lions’ once-promising 2025 campaign has officially hit rock bottom. 

After a 4-1 start to the season, Dan Campbell's squad has lost six of its last 10 games, including two straight for the first time since 2022, and has all but been eliminated from postseason play. 

Detroit's playoff odds, per The Athletic's playoff simulator, now sit at just three percent after dropping its regular season home finale to the Steelers Sunday.

The Lions, in what has become a common occurrence of late, looked like a shell of their former dominant selves in the Week 16 affair.

For starters, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery never got into a groove running the football. Gibbs ran for a measly two yards on seven carries, and Montgomery didn't fare much better (14 yards on four carries). It was a dismal performance from the backfield tandem, and collectively, the Lions mustered just 15 rushing yards on the day. 

To add insult to injury, Detroit defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard's unit offered little-to-no resistance to the Steelers’ ground attack. Pittsburgh backs Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell reached the second and third levels consistently, thrashing the Lions’ run defense for 230 yards and two touchdowns.

The Steelers controlled the line of scrimmage through all four quarters, effectively beating the Lions at their own game: the ground and pound.

This was hardly the first time this season where the Lions struggled to establish the run game, too. In fact, Sunday marked the sixth instance in which Detroit was unable to compile 100 rushing yards as a team.

It's a far cry from the 15-win, NFC North-champion Lions of a season ago. That team, also led by Gibbs and Montgomery on the ground, failed to amass 100 total rushing yards just once (Week 15 vs. the Bills).

Detroit, under Campbell, used to pride itself on playing smashmouth football, winning in the trenches and being tougher and more physical than the teams it lined up against. 

Those Lions are no more, though. Campbell & Co. have lost their identity, and it's why Detroit will likely miss out on the playoffs for the first time since the 2022 campaign.

And for as much as this can be attributed to Frank Ragnow retiring and the offensive line's overall decline, Campbell and offensive coordinator John Morton also deserve to shoulder a healthy degree of the blame.

Morton, time and time again, egregiously failed to put the Lions’ offense in position to succeed prior to being stripped of his play-calling duties earlier this season. 

While Campbell has done better since assuming the responsibilities, he's still not fit for the job on a full-time basis. And rather surprisingly, he's gotten away from the run game – whether intentional or not – far too often.

This was on display yet again Sunday, perhaps most glaringly when Lions signal-caller Jared Goff was sacked for a safety in the third quarter. During the series, which Detroit started at its own 3-yard line, Campbell didn't dial up a single run play, even with the offensive line already having proven an inability to keep a clean pocket for the veteran passer. It was hardly one of Campbell's best decisions of the day, and it played a part in the ensuing safety. 

Campbell needs to relinquish his play-calling duties this offseason, and the Lions need to relieve Morton of his job as offensive coordinator and hire a proven play-caller to replace him.

On top of that, Detroit needs to evaluate whether Sheppard is the right man to lead the defense next season.

While the defensive side of the ball has certainly been hampered by the injury bug in 2025 (i.e. injuries to safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph), Sheppard's performance as defensive coordinator should still be put under the microscope.