Detroit Defensive Coordinator Plans Minor Tweaks, Not Major Scheme Overhaul for 2026

Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said this week he won't make sweeping changes to his scheme for 2026. His unit struggled late in the season. The Lions finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2022.

"No, I don't see drastic change," Sheppard said, according to MLive. "What I see and what I've learned in my first year on the job of calling defenses, it's something that me and Dan (Campbell) talk about every day."

The defense ranked 23rd in points allowed. It ranked 20th in takeaways this season. Detroit went through a brutal five-game stretch from Nov. 23 through Dec. 21, giving up 31.6 points and 458.6 yards per game while posting a 2-3 record.

Sheppard pointed to injuries. Safety Brian Branch suffered an Achilles injury in December, while safety Kerby Joseph hasn't played since before the bye week. The first-year coordinator said losing players of that quality hurt his defense's ability to attack opponents.

"I started off the year, I wanted to have the top defense in this category, top this, top that, top that," Sheppard said. "And you get caught in these statistical things that mean nothing if you're not winning football games. This league is about adaptability."

Sheppard adjusted his approach when key players went down. Detroit entered Weeks 16 and 17 leading the league in man coverage, yet played it only 17.8% of the time in Week 16 and 20% against Minnesota. The shift to more zone coverage came with Joseph, Branch and cornerback Terrion Arnold missing action.

"You talk about the offense that you're facing, you're talking about the personnel that's at your disposal that week," Sheppard said. "It's a lot of different variables, and my job has been --, and I believe we have done as a defensive staff -- week-to-week, what is it going to take to stop this offense?"

Detroit closes its season Sunday against Chicago. Kickoff is set for 4:25 p.m. ET.