Terry Bradshaw believes the Detroit Lions will struggle to replicate their stunning 2024 form next season after losing much of their coaching staff.
The Lions have been one of the best teams in the NFL under head coach Dan Campbell during the last two years. They reached the NFC Championship Game in January 2024 – having ended a 32-year wait for a playoff win – and they went 15-2 this regular season.
The Lions secured the No. 1 seed in the NFC, but they failed to make the most of it by losing 45-31 to the Washington Commanders at home in the Divisional Round. Their rivals have now taken advantage of their success, with several coaches leaving Detroit.
Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has been hired as the head coach of the New York Jets. Glenn has since made Detroit’s passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand his offensive coordinator and Detroit’s tight ends coach Steve Heiden his offensive line coach.
The Lions have also lost their offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to the Chicago Bears, with him becoming their new head coach. Johnson has recently made Detroit’s assistant quarterback coach J.T. Barrett his quarterback coach, and he’s hired Detroit’s wide receiver coach Antwaan Randle El as his assistant head coach.
Adding to the misery is the exit of defensive line coach and run game coordinator Terrell Williams, who’s now the defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots. Pittsburgh Steelers legend Bradshaw was asked at a FOX media event if the Lions can challenge for hardware again next season and highlighted the loss of several coaches.
“We all thought that it was make or break (in 2024),” said Bradshaw. “They built that team, and they’re still building it. Their defense took a took a blow, but boy, when they got in the playoffs we all said, ‘They gotta win it’ – because this Johnson guy is gonna be going, and the defensive coordinator’s gonna be gone, and sure enough they are gone.
“Now you can have the same plays, you can run the dame offense. But great coordinators, it’s when they use those plays, and the formations that they use to dictate coverage, that’s the speciality of offensive coordinators. When you look at the 32 teams in the NFL, they are not that many great coordinators. There’s a lot of coordinators, but there’s not a lot of great ones.
“You look at Denver and Sean Payton, who I think is one of the best in the world, you grow these kids, you build them up and teach them, and they go on somewhere else, and hopefully turn into good coordinators. But boy, that hurt Detroit.”
When asked if Detroit’s quarterback Jared Goff is good enough to cope with the coaching upheaval and win a Super Bowl, Bradshaw added: “He’s good enough. But once again, when you run a play, when you call a play, when you do a double reverse – when you do all of these things, that’s where the coordinators are special.
“When do you blitz? When do you not blitz? Do you blitz here? Do you do things differently? Like in these Super Bowl games, it’s always something different, so what’s gonna be different? Kansas City… when are they gonna blitz? Are they gonna fake blitz?
“Nothing drives a quarterback crazier than seeing everybody get up there tight. Now you know they’re all not coming, so who’s not coming? Is it a four-man rush? Is it a three-man rush? Is it five guys coming? There are keys to all of that, and that’s why a quarterback’s gotta be really sharp.”
