Entering 2022, we’ve talked a lot about the Year 2 jump for a lot of players. Whether it’s Detroit’s 2021 rookie class or players like Jared Goff and D’Andre Swift in the second year of their new offensive scheme, there’s an expectation that a lot of returning players from last year’s Detroit Lions team will be playing at a higher level this season.
But what about the coaching staff? For a lot of coaches, 2021 was a new venture for them. Aaron Glenn was a first-time defensive coordinator, Mark Brunell was coaching quarterbacks for the first time at the NFL level, it was Kelvin Sheppard’s first year coaching at any level, Brian Duker, Antwaan Randle El, and Aubrey Pleasant all had new roles, and, of course, this was Dan Campbell’s first season as an NFL head coach without the “assistant” or “interim” label.