Last year, the Detroit Lions hired Kelvin Sheppard to be their outside linebackers coach. It was Sheppard’s first shot at coaching at the professional level, and even though it was out of his comfort zone as a different position than he played—he was an off-ball, inside linebacker in his career as a player—he was up for the challenge after having an informal, three-hour conversation with head coach Dan Campbell.
Under Sheppard’s tutelage, the Lions got some surprise contributions from their edge rushers. In particular, former first-round pick Charles Harris thrived under Sheppard to the tune of 7.