New Detroit Lions defensive coordinator, like most of the team’s coaching staff in 2024, was a hot commodity on the coaching carousel this offseason. Sheppard moved up from linebackers coach to coordinator, taking over for new Jets head coach Aaron Glenn.
In his first public interview, conducted via Dan Miller and FOX2 in Detroit, Sheppard confirmed that he had other job offers outside the Lions. He stayed for one reason: head coach Dan Campbell.
“It means everything to me,” Sheppard said of Campbell’s trust and support. “It’s the reason I chose to stay here over other opportunities. It would have been almost impossible to take another job.”
After joking that he wouldn’t leave even for a head coaching opportunity, Sheppard laid out his loyalty to Campbell.
“I owe a lot to Dan,” Sheppard said pensively. “Number one, the belief system he’s had in me since Day One when I met him in 2014 as a player … he was one of the first people who told me I should take a shot at this thing (coaching). He saw it in me as a player.”
It was a powerful answer from Sheppard, who has always been candid about his appreciation for Campbell and the Lions organization for helping him become a successful coach.