Dan Campbell 'not talking about' defensive overhaul. Without one Lions are wasting their Super Bowl window

With the defense bottoming out in 2026, Campbell needs to make changes in order to take his team back to the championship conversation

Oct 5, 2026 at 12:09 pm ET • 4 min read

Pull a random defensive statistic out of a hat, and there is a solid chance the Detroit Lions rank dead last in the NFL in that metric. Through Week 4, no team surrendered more points or yards than the Lions. This is now the second consecutive year in which Detroit's defense has been a liability, yet coach Dan Campbell is hesitant to make any significant changes to the unit's structure or leadership.

Following the 32-26 loss to the Carolina Panthers on "Sunday Night Football," Campbell admitted that the defense is a glaring issue. But instead of firing second-year coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, shaking up the play-calling duties or doing anything else to reconstruct the defense's framework, Campbell said he wants to "exhaust everything" with the players and coaches he has by his side.

"I'm not talking about all that," Campbell said after the game of a potential leadership change. "I'm talking about getting better right now with what we've got. That's what we're going to do. We're going to find a way to get better with what we've got. There are other things that we can do. We've tweaked a little bit every week here. There's still some things that we can try that we haven't yet to try to settle some things down and see if we can help. It's a work in progress."

None of the adjustments Campbell and his staff have made on the fly over the last year have produced the desired results. Sunday night was just the latest example. Carolina quarterback Bryce Young entered the game as the NFL's leading passer and only padded his advantage over the rest of the league's signal-callers with a 329-yard outing. Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan enjoyed a career night with 14 catches, 192 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, Chuba Hubbard racked up 122 yards and a pair of scores.

With each passing week, Detroit shows that no matter how excellent its offense may be, it is always in grave danger of losing. The Panthers, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills and New Orleans Saints each posted at least 24 points against this team. New Orleans tallied 30 in the second half and overtime of the season opener. Still, Campbell and his players stand up for Sheppard.

In Sheppard's defense, his personnel is less than fully stocked. The absences of Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch from the safety unit, plus Terrion Arnold's late-offseason departure, are undoubtedly key reasons why the Lions' secondary cannot get off the field. But the front is still full of Pro Bowl talent like Aidan Hutchinson and Jack Campbell.

The issues date back to before those defensive backfield personnel deficiencies, so it is clear that the troubles go much deeper.

Defensive downturn under Kelvin Sheppard

Detroit has not been a defensive juggernaut at any point during the Campbell era, but there was a brief period at the height of his tenure where the Lions were nearly as effective at preventing opponents from scoring as they were at putting points on the board themselves. Former defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn built the group from the ground up and turned it into a top-10 unit before his departure to take the Jets' head coaching job.

Since then, it has been nothing but regression. The team as a whole suffered in turn. During Glenn's tenure, the Lions improved their win total every year. In his final season, they went 15-2 and reached the divisional round of the playoffs. Once Sheppard took over, Detroit instantly regressed to 9-8 and missed the postseason, and it is off to a mediocre start to 2026.

Season	Coordinator	Scoring defense rank	Yards allowed rank	Expected points rank
2024	Aaron Glenn	7	20	10
2025	Kelvin Sheppard	22	18	18
2026	Kelvin Sheppard	32	32	32

Lions wasting their Super Bowl window

The Lions' offense is championship material. A few of the best players in the NFL at their respective positions reside on this unit. Jahmyr Gibbs is perhaps the top running back in the league. Penei Sewell might be the league's most elite tackle. Amon-Ra St. Brown is a top-flight wide receiver. Sam LaPorta is off to a tremendous start to his career at tight end. Holding the unit together is a commendable quarterback in Jared Goff, who logged the seventh 400-yard game of his career and the third of his Lions tenure in Week 4.

Winning shootouts is not a sustainable model, though. That was evident a year ago when the Lions finished just one game above .500. It is clear in 2026 as they open the campaign at 2-2. The offense can keep pace with nearly anyone, but the group on the other side of the ball is putting too much of the burden on Goff and his supporting cast.

There is foundational talent on the defense, too. Hutchinson and Campbell are the kinds of pieces that can anchor a formidable group. They just need more help on the back end and a play-caller who utilizes them more effectively.

Unless the Lions shake up their defensive leadership or make a splash personnel move, the group will continue to weigh down a team that, for so many reasons, should be in the Super Bowl conversation.