Dan Campbell sends warning to Lions players after loss to Panthers

Following the Detroit Lions' 32-26 loss to the Carolina Panthers that dropped the Lions to 2-2 on Sunday night, Detroit head coach Dan Campbell confirmed that he would not be parting ways with second-year defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard. 

That said, it sounds like Campbell will be making some changes as the Lions prepare for their Week 5 matchup at the 1-3 Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 11. 

Dan Campbell and the Lions are "not going to accept mediocrity"

Per Will Burchfield of Audacy, Campbell said during a Tuesday appearance on local sports radio station 97.1 The Ticket that his defense is "a work in progress" and that he's "going to give some other guys an opportunity" to impress. 

"But we’re not going to accept mediocrity," Campbell explained. "That’s not what we’re doing here. We've got too many guys playing at a high level, and we’re going to raise the floor on this team." 

ESPN stats show that the Lions ended Week 4 of the season ranked last in the NFL with an average of 304.0 passing yards allowed per game, last with an average of 423.8 total yards surrendered per contest and 31st with 31.8 points allowed per game. It's no secret that Lions general manager Brad Holmes wants to acquire some help for his team's secondary, but it was unclear as of Tuesday morning if Detroit was close to making a trade for a big-name player. 

"Our discipline is not good enough across the board. We’re playing very average football right now, and that’s everywhere," Campbell said of the Lions. "That’s everywhere. That’s not just defense. We gotta pick up the slack on offense and special teams right now. That’ll alleviate a lot of our defensive issues. It’s certainly going to help. And that’s what I’m tasked with, man. I’m about freaking solving problems. I’m going after this thing, man. We’re not going to be mediocre. I don’t accept that."

Dan Campbell explains mindset about Kelvin Sheppard

Colton Pouncy of The Athletic is among those who have said since Sunday night that "there’s reason to question the job security of defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard and this staff." 

On Tuesday, Campbell offered a strong reaction to such takes. 

"I understand all that from afar, when you look at it, and you look at the numbers," Campbell said about outsiders calling for Sheppard to be fired. "But I believe in Kelvin Sheppard, and I believe we got a lot of meat on the bone with this defense right now. We’re going to continue to tweak. We got more things that we can do with what we have here. There’s different calls."

As of early Tuesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Lions as 4.5-point road favorites over the Cardinals. One wonders whether Campbell could experience a change of heart regarding Sheppard's tenure if Detroit enters its Week 6 bye at 2-3 because the team's defense produces a stinker at Arizona's State Farm Stadium this coming Sunday.