For many, many years the Detroit Lions were the laughingstock of the NFL. About 15 years ago they completed the first 0-16 season. The worst in NFL history. I can still see the Lions fan with a brown paper bag over his head with absolute disbelief that they didn’t win a single game. A few years ago that changed with the hires of Dan Campbell and the rest of his staff. With the Lions found success, other teams have taken notice and have taken interest in some of the Lion’s coaches and players. After a disappointing end to a year with very high hopes, many variables could change about the Lions next year for the worse. 

With the Lion’s success in the regular season, two names kept coming up around the NFL. Both the Lion’s offensive and defensive play callers; Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson. It was pretty much guaranteed that at the end of the season, the Lions would be losing both of these guys to other teams as they would become head coaches. Not only were both of them hired as head coaches on other teams, but they have also hired 3 of the Lion’s other assistant coaches and will be looking to sign some of the Lion’s free agents this spring onto their new teams. 

With a depleted coaching staff, it doesn’t help that the Lion’s best defensive player is also coming back from a broken leg. Aiden Hutchinson was off to one of the hottest starts in NFL history before a heartbreaking season-ending leg injury. Without him, the defense went into shambles and now this upcoming season he has to overcome the injury and lose the playcaller he has had for his entire NFL career.  

Despite the loss of 6 assistant coaches and the many question marks on the defense including the return of Aiden Hutchinson, the Lions are returning arguably the best offense in the NFL. With young stars such as Jahmyr Gibbs and Penei Sewell and seasoned veterans like Frank Ragnow and Jared Goff, the offense should pick up right where they left off. 

Unfortunately, I believe that the cons outweigh the pros. Although the Lions should still be one of the more dominant teams heading into next season, it will be very difficult to top a 15-2 season. It feels like this season was the perfect opportunity to win a Super Bowl with a fully loaded coaching staff and a weak conference. The Lions will face much more adversity next season than they did this past one.