One of the myriad takeaways from the three days of Detroit Lions minicamp was the conspicuous presence of linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard. He was all over the defensive drills, and not just with his linebackers. There were a couple of drills that tied together the LBs and the defensive backs, and it was Sheppard running those drills.
Sheppard, 35, continues to demonstrate a higher coaching ceiling than just being a positional coach. He’s been building up his coaching resumé since joining the Lions two seasons ago. The team continues to give him more responsibilities and trust in the longtime NFL linebacker.
Head coach Dan Campbell sees big things for his LB coach.
“Well, he’s earned that. He’s earned that,” Campbell said Thursday of Sheppard getting more on his coaching plate this offseason. “He’s – 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, (DC Aaron Glenn) AG and I talked and we felt like it was time to put more on him, especially this year.”
Campbell continued,
“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.”
Go ahead and put Sheppard at the top of the internal candidate list to take over Detroit’s defense if Aaron Glenn leaves for a head coaching gig.
