The Detroit Lions cut Shaun Dion Hamilton a couple weeks ago, but he’s coming back to be on the coaching staff.
When the Detroit Lions reduced their active roster from 85 to 80 players on Aug. 23, linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton was the one player who was cut as others were placed on the PUP or NFI lists.
On Wednesday, as first reported by Justin Rogers of The Detroit News, Hamilton is coming back to be on the Lions’ coaching staff as a defensive assistant.
Hamilton was a sixth-round pick (No. 197 overall) by Washington in the 2018 draft out of Alabama. He spent three years there, playing in 46 games with 97 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and an interception. He was a core special teamer over that stretch, playing 822 special teams snaps in total.
The Lions picked up Hamilton off waivers in 2021. But an arm injury before the first preseason game eventually landed him on IR and ended his season.
Shaun Dion Hamilton seemed to get an early start on his coaching career
Hamilton was a victim of a numbers game for the Lions at linebacker. The emergence of rookie Macolm Rodriguez was a big development, and free agent addition Chris Board is in line for no less than a primary special teams role. In predictions or who could be among the first cuts, either from 90 to 85 or 85 to 80 as he was, Hamilton was an easy choice.
The Lions notably held a player-led practice on Aug. 22. Literally the day before he was cut, Hamilton was seen apparently getting a head start on his coaching career.
Dan Campbell has assembled a staff filled with former NFL players, like he is of course. Hamilton now joins the list of former players on the Lions’ coaching staff that includes quarterbacks coach Mark Brunell, assistant head coach/running backs coach Duce Staley, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El, linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard and offensive line coach Hank Fraley.