Following the Detroit Lions’ surprise exit in the postseason at the hands of the Washington Commanders, the Lions coaching staff has been ravaged by teams around the NFL that hired assistant coaches to more prominent roles. But on Thursday, the organization finally got some good news worth getting excited about.
Moving forward, Lions fans have questioned how well their offense will perform next season following the departure of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Johnson of course opted to stay in the NFC North, taking the head coaching job for the Chicago Bears.
It’s fair to question the success of the Lions offense moving forward given just how good they have looked under Johnson in recent years. For each of the last two seasons, the Lions offense has ranked inside the top-five in yards throughout the regular season.
New offensive coordinator John Morton will have his hands full in keeping the Lions offense playing at an elite level. But on Thursday, Morton got some backup who may very well play a big part in him doing just that.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, former Stanford head coach David Shaw has joined the Lions coaching staff as the team’s passing game coordinator.
Former Stanford head coach David Shaw and the #Lions have agreed to terms on a multiyear deal to hire him as passing game coordinator, per sources.
Shaw, 52, has worked with new OC John Morton before. A big hire for Dan Campbell’s remodeled staff. pic.twitter.com/Ro4z3HhWyd
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 30, 2025
Shaw is of course best known for his days in the collegiate ranks. But he has recently become familiar with the NFL game again as a a senior personnel executive with the Denver Broncos this past season.
The former Stanford coach hasn’t coached on the sideline for an NFL team since 2005 when he was a wide receivers coach for the Baltimore Ravens. But obviously, he has grown quite a bit since then.
It’s not quite a head coaching job for Shaw, which is a position he did interview for earlier this offseason. Still, it is a path back to a prominent role in coaching on a great time like the Lions which is great to see.