Coordinator recap: No nerves ahead of debuts, rookie expectations, and OC/QB relationship off to strong start

Allen Park — Detroit Lions coordinators Kelvin Sheppard, John Morton and Dave Fipp met with the media on Thursday, ahead of the season-opener against Green Bay. Here are the highlights from their press sessions.

Calm before the storm

Morton admits he felt some pressure the last time he was an offensive coordinator, with the Jets in 2017. There’s something about proving yourself your first time in that role at the highest level, and the fact that he was doing it under the scrutinizing eye of the New York media only added to the intensity.

Nearly a decade later, Morton only feels excitement heading into his first game as Detroit’s OC.

“Don’t feel pressure,” he said. “I mean, this is my 28th year. Every coach works their butt off. I’ve just been taught a certain way and it’s all I know. I love doing this and I wouldn’t know what else I would do. I just love it. It’s not about me, it’s about the players.

“…I feel very confident,” Morton said. “The coaches here are unbelievable. We’re doing this together, we’ve got great players. I feel really good where I’m at right now.”

It’s more new to Kelvin Sheppard, the first-year defensive coordinator who has quickly climbed the coaching ranks after taking his first assistant coaching job with the Lions in 2021. But like Morton, it’s been calming to invest all of his emotional energy into the roster he’s been preparing the past six weeks.

“I take myself out of that equation,” Sheppard said. “I’m excited for the players and the opportunity that these guys have to go out. …That’s what I’m excited for. I’m a very selfless person. I’m not in this to be like, ‘Oh, this is my first game.’ No, this is their first game to go out and display what we’re going to look like and what’s to come in the 2025-2026 season.”

Sheppard also takes solace in his preparation. We're not just talking about training camp, where coach Dan Campbell has put him in pressure-packed situations to sharpen Sheppard’s play-calling acumen. It's the fact that he’s been silently readying for this moment for the past couple of years.

“I’ve been calling defenses for the last six weeks, and more importantly, for the last two years, in my own in my mind,” Sheppard said. “The day before the game, if (former Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG got sick the night before, how would I see myself calling these games? So, it’s the first time others are going to see me call games, call plays and things like that.”

Shifting dynamics of special teams

There’s a significant change to kickoffs this year, with touchbacks on balls booted directly into the end zone coming out to the 35-yard line, as opposed to the 30.

Most teams found that last year’s touchback was minimally punitive, with the average return being brought back just shy of the 30. So instead of risking a big play because of a schematic breakdown, most of the league still settled for taking touchbacks.

However, an extra 5 yards is expected to result in a sharp increase in returns.

“Five yards every kickoff, you know, you add it up,” Fipp said. “25 yards, 30 yards, 40 yards, and in the course of a game, it’s huge.”

Fipp also noted that with the increasing leg strength and accuracy of kickers from long distances, a touchback will put most teams 15-20 yards from the outside of their field-goal range.

Regardless of the potential negatives, Fipp is excited. He knows it will make his job more important, and he’s looking forward to how that shows up on Sundays.

“What’s going to happen is teams aren’t going to just kick the ball into the back of the end zone and give them the ball at the 35,” Fipp said. “Because of that, over the course of the season, there’s just going to be a lot more volume of plays. Any time you have more numbers, there’s going to be more big returns. So, throughout the course of the year, there’s going to be some big returns and then, inevitably, some of those are going to come up in critical situations in critical games. It’s going to have a major impact, which I love. I mean that’s what really we want. We want to be a part of the game.

“I think I hit on this one of the times I talked to you, but it's going to force teams to start saying, ‘Hey, man, we need to put a lot of resources into this area of the game and we can’t just push it off to the side,’” Fipp continued. “It’s going to be a factor. ‘Who’s returning the ball and who’s covering the kicks? Is it just backup players? Are you putting starters out there? And do you have starters return the ball?’ You know, I think all those conversations. By the end of this season, there’s going to be a lot of teams having a lot of those.”

Starters handling kickoff, you say? Will we finally see a crunch-time situation where the Lions turn to someone like Jahmyr Gibbs or Jameson Williams to field a kick, looking for a big-play spark?

Fipp wasn’t eager to publicly reveal that level of strategy.

“I think it’s definitely a conversation people have to have,” he said. “I’m not going to get into all of that for us necessarily, but I think you’ve definitely got to consider it. It’s going to be impactful plays, and even if it’s not every time, is it in big moments? I think we’ll find out.”

Setting expectations

I asked Morton what the team’s decision to trade Tim Patrick said about his confidence in Kalif Raymond and rookie Isaac TeSlaa filling the No. 3 receiver role. Apparently, Morton didn’t hear the scope of the query because he only answered about TeSlaa.

That works out well, since that’s what most of you care about.

“I think TeSlaa did a great job in training camp, here in practice, and he made plays,” Morton said. “He got better every single day, carried over to the game. We thought he did an unbelievable job. He’s a smart kid, he’s tough, there are some good things that he can do that’s going to help us this year. He took advantage of the opportunity when Tim was out.”

Fipp, meanwhile, is looking forward to utilizing both TeSlaa and another rookie receiver, Dominic Lovett, on special teams.

“He’s a good body type,” Fipp said about TeSlaa. “He’s got some size and some length. He’s got some speed, so that’s huge. ...It’s hard for the guy who can’t run to match the guy who can run. And he can run, so that gives him a chance to play some of these positions on the outside: Gunner, hold-up guy and some of that stuff. And then I would say competitive spirit, like he’s not afraid of contact. He likes using his hands. He likes being physical.

As for the smaller-framed Lovett, Fipp said the receiver will be better suited for some of the outside roles, including punt gunner, while offering some kick and punt return ability, if the Lions need it.

“It’ll end up being, kind of like it comes down to every year is here’s the whatever, 48 guys you get to work with on game day and then how can you make the best group out of those 48, managing their volume on offense and defense and making sure you’re not wearing anyone out,” Fipp said.

Building chemistry

On Tuesday, quarterback Jared Goff raved about working with Morton.

“Johnny’s been awesome listening, as well as giving me feedback when he disagrees with something that I think, and I think that’s important,” Goff said.

Goff went on to say he and Morton see the game alike. Plus, the coordinator teaches similarly to how he was coached in Los Angeles, given coach Sean McVay and Morton’s ties to former coach Jon Gruden.

“There’s a lot of crossover there, so it does take me back a little bit to those days, and some of the philosophies are similar there,” Goff said. “So there is a lot of carryover that helps. And then again, I’ve said it a million times, the fact that we were together at one point (in Detroit), and have a relationship prior to him being my coordinator, it’s extremely important and allows us to kind of speak freely to each other.”

Morton echoed Goff’s comments, acknowledging how smoothly things have gone in his role because of the quarterback’s ability to communicate.

“It’s made it a lot easier,” Morton said. “It’s been awesome. The dialogue we’ve had — we call it RCE, recognize, communicate and execute — we’re just talking all the time because we have to get to know each other. Every day, we learn about each other, and he’s just been awesome. Ideas, what I’m thinking, film, we’re talking on the phone, it’s been awesome. And that’s the way the coordinator and the quarterback should be.”

Advanced scouting of the opposition

One of Detroit’s top defensive priorities will be preventing first-round receiver Matthew Golden from getting off to a strong start to his career. Interestingly, Sheppard has a better perspective on the player than most defensive coaches would because of the unique way the Lions scout prospects before the draft.

“It’s crazy how this unfolded because I actually did look at him,” Sheppard said. “Dan (Campbell) had me evaluate a handful of offensive guys this offseason during the draft process, and he was one of the guys on the list. It’s a unique thing we do here, and just another part of coaching development, just expanding your horizon beyond your position, beyond your side of the ball.”

Sheppard also noted that first-year running backs coach Tashard Choice was with Golden at the University of Texas last season, adding additional insight.

“I believe he was the fastest guy, this year, coming out, and he’s a very explosive player,” Sheppard said. “He’s a big component of their offense. I already know that without seeing a clip because of the dynamic (skill set) he provides.”

Sheppard noted that having the opportunity to practice against another elite speedster receiver, Jameson Williams, should have the Lions' secondary prepped for the challenge.

It’s worth noting that the Lions brought Golden in for a pre-draft visit. Having Sheppard take a look at the prospect suggests the team had a strong interest in the player before the Packers snagged him five spots ahead of where Detroit selected defensive tackle Tyleik Williams.

Simple bar set for first-rounder

Speaking of Williams, here’s what Sheppard said he hopes to see from the team’s first-round pick on Sunday.

“I’m expecting to see a violent, physical, big man striking and knocking people back,” Sheppard said. “We know his playmaking ability, but I just keep reminding him, d-tackles don’t necessarily make plays that show up on the stat sheet. And you have to remind him of that, because he was a dominant player at Ohio State, and he’s used to racking up stats on the stat sheet.”

Sheppard said he’ll continue to remind Williams that his role within the system is to knock blockers back and anchor against double-teams.

“He’s shown that all camp," Sheppard said. "I’m very excited for that player and to see him out there in Lambeau."

Confidence from above

It’s been established, but Morton will coach Sunday’s game from the booth. It’s a long-standing preference that he doesn’t intend to change now that he’s coordinating Detroit's offense.

“I’ve been up there my whole career,” Morton said. “…I have certain things that I’ve always done up there, as far as tendencies and things, and it’s just you take the chaos out of it and it’s very calm up there. I can see everything and it’s very easy to call plays up there.”

Still, there’s another factor that allows Morton to be comfortable seven stories above the fray. It’s because he has full confidence in his right-hand man, passing game coordinator David Shaw, serving as the eyes and ears at the field level.

“It helps out a lot, because if you don’t have anybody down there that you can trust, then I probably would go down there,” Morton said. “…He’s just another pair of eyes for the quarterback, just looking at the quarterback, (offering) any ideas. In between series, he’s over there with the quarterback, they relay it to me things that he is seeing, so that’s kind of how that goes.”

Praise for newcomers

Sheppard shared some positive thoughts about what a handful of additions have brought to the defense this offseason.

On cornerback D.J. Reed: “He’s meant everything to our defense. He’s been a plug-and-play guy not only on the field, but in the classroom, in the locker room. D.J. Reed, I can’t say enough about him. I know that (Aidan Hutchinson) Hutch and (Alex Anzalone) Anzo were voted captains, but he would’ve easily been a guy that would’ve earned the right to wear that patch. Everything he does is by his work, all you have to do is watch him. Watch his attentiveness in meetings. He asks me the most questions of anybody.”

On linebacker Zach Cunningham: “To me, this is a starter in this league,” Sheppard said. “I have no idea what he did before he got here, or why he wasn’t starting or playing credible snaps the last two years, but this player, what he’s shown on our field, he’s a starting-caliber linebacker in this league.”

On Avonte Maddox: “Maddox provides us a huge depth piece that we’ve been (looking) for for two years. He’s kind of a chess piece that you can play at multiple spots, very similar to Brian Branch. …You’re talking about a perfect fit to the culture and everything. He embodies being selfless, he’s willing to go play corner, safety, nickel, linebacker, and he knows what to do at all of these spots.”