The Detroit Lions are currently gearing up for one of the biggest seasons in franchise history, as the team has legitimate Super Bowl aspirations for the first time in a long time.
Coming off a 12-5 campaign that saw them go to the NFC Championship game before losing a contest they should have won, the Lions sport one of the best rosters in the NFL and a very good coaching staff that has, for the most part, pushed all the right buttons to get this team where it currently is.
In a recent article ranking all 32 NFL coaching staffs, ESPN's Ben Solak placed the Lions at No. 2. Only the Kansas City Chiefs staff was ranked higher.
Some of Campbell's best decisions look obvious in hindsight, but it's easy to forget how bold they were at the time. Bumping Penei Sewell, an elite left tackle in college, to right tackle is the sort of thing lesser players and lesser coaching staffs mess up. Firing an established offensive coach in Anthony Lynn to promote Ben Johnson -- an unknown coach with no playcalling experience -- to offensive coordinator was the move that saved Jared Goff's career.
Let's talk about Johnson, who is probably the best offensive coordinator on this list. Detroit's offense has been a top-10 unit by DVOA and expected points added in each of the past two seasons, and he has received several head-coaching interviews accordingly. This with a quarterback who the Rams had to pay the Lions to take on; with a receiver room perilously thin behind St. Brown; without a single splashy free agent addition save for ... David Montgomery? As non-head-coach playcallers go, Johnson is the best in the business.
And on the other side of the ball? Glenn was voted as the top-ranked coordinator in the league by the NFLPA last season. The metrics of the Detroit defense aren't as good as the offense, but they took a huge step forward in run defense last season. With a revamped cornerback room, the coverage should catch up.
While head coach Dan Campbell and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson have no doubt established themselves as two of the better coaches in their respective positions, the jury is still out on defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.
Since taking over in 2021, Glenn's defenses have ranked 31st, 30th, and 31st in points allowed per game. However, context is important and it's certainly fair to point out that Detroit hasn't exactly had a ton of talent on that side of the ball.
Looking ahead to 2024, the Lions have made several additions to their defense to beef things up.
In the secondary, Detroit added Carlton Davis, Amik Robertson, Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. Upfront, the signings of defensive lineman D.J. Reader and edge rusher Marcus Davenport should help things, assuming both can stay healthy and play at a high level.
If the Lions want to take that next step and get to the Super Bowl, the defense must get better. If the unit doesn't improve, Glenn's seat will might get hot.
