The one team that could have interest in stealing Kelvin Sheppard away from the Lions
The Arizona Cardinals are a team to watch for interest in interviewing Lions DC Kelvin Sheppard.
At this point, all the focus for the Detroit Lions is on who will be this team’s new offensive coordinator. It would appear that Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard is safe at this time.
But there could be at least one team that could be looking to interview Sheppard for their head coach job, and they’ve cast a pretty wide net already.
The Arizona Cardinals are a team to watch for interest in interviewing Lions DC Kelvin Sheppard
The Cardinals already have five interviews set up or requested, and they’re not just interviewing guys from winning teams. For example, they have Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver coming in. Perhaps they might want to talk to Sheppard as well.
The other thing that makes it possible is that Cardinals assistant general manager Dave Sears was in Detroit with Sheppard when he was the Lions’ Director of College Scouting. While Sears primarily worked with Brad Holmes, he’s definitely sat in rooms with Sheppard discussing players before.
The Lions’ defense had a rough end to their season, but midway through the year, everyone was talking about what Sheppard got out of the “Legion of Whom,” and everyone has taken note of how well Detroit’s linebacker corps played. Sheppard, of course, is a former NFL linebacker.
This is not to say Sheppard gets the job. Frankly, I think next year he’ll get a lot more interest. But I do see the connection with Sears, and the Cardinals are casting a wide net, so they might at least call Sheppard and interview him this offseason. We’ll see what happens. This is a guy the Lions probably don’t want to lose.
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