ALLEN PARK — The honeymoon period for new Lions defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers has been a smooth one so far.
After spending the last 10 years joined at the hip with Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles, Rodgers arrives in Detroit to replace Terrell Williams, who departed to join Mike Vrabel’s staff as defensive coordinator with the New England Patriots.
Rodgers inherits a unit that, when healthy, has the potential to be a key piece in the Lions’ quest to capitalize on their Super Bowl window.
“Well, that had a lot to do with it,” Rodgers said of the talent factoring into his decision to come to Detroit. “It is just a chance as a coach — as long as I’ve been in this league — you look for good opportunities, and you’re walking in with some talented guys and guys you’d kind of like to work with. And that had something to do with it. And plus, the culture Coach Campbell has created here. And just as a coach, you always want to learn. I got to where I was pretty familiar with Todd’s system — the way he does things and everything. Great learning experience for me. Now, to get the experience of the way Dan leads the team and the meetings and everything...
“It’s just a learning (experience) for me. I was telling somebody — as long as I’ve been in this league — you still can learn. When you get to the point where you think you know it all, that’s when problems set in. So now I’m just kind of in a situation where I’m still learning the way we do things here. And at the end of the day, it’s still football — but it’s just the way you do it and try to get the results on Sunday."
Rodgers will lead a group that includes standout defenders Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeill — both recovering from season-ending lower leg injuries — along with veteran DJ Reader, Levi Onwuzurike, Josh Paschal, Marcus Davenport, newcomer Roy Lopez, and first-round pick Tyleik Williams.
After coaching Tampa Bay’s defensive line since 2019 under Bruce Arians and then Bowles, Rodgers peeled back his approach to how he’s learning his new players — and how they’re learning from him.
“Well, this is really what this time of the year is for,” Rodgers said of the offseason program. “Because a lot of those guys have been here since we walked in day one, and the vets came back into the building, just kind of thought it’d be some place to count. We all understand right now this is voluntary, but I’m sitting there looking — when I walk in a meeting room, every chair is filled. So it’s just like, hey, they don’t really have to be here. So my hat goes off to ‘em for that. And then just know — they’re trying to learn me, I’m trying to learn them. And I’m coaching the guys that have played in the system longer than I’ve been coaching it. So they’re helping me, too.
“So no, but it’s been good so far. It’s like, one, I’m trying to do things and asking them questions like — it’s easier for me to learn than for them to learn. Nobody’s going to hit me on Sundays... at the end of the day, it’s about the players. So one, I’m trying to make the transition from me coming in to them as easy as they can — the way they can play as fast as they can."
One player Rodgers is eager to work with is Davenport. The 28-year-old defensive end was limited to just two games last season before suffering a season-ending triceps injury in Week 3. He’s played only six games over the past two seasons combined — between his time in Detroit and Minnesota — and Rodgers made clear his top priority is getting him through a full season.
“That’s the number one thing, and I talked to him about it. The thing is — and I told him, matter of fact, the first meeting was — I got to do everything to help him do that,” Rodgers said. “This guy’s a tremendous player. He is — just as you look at his career.
“…There’s another guy that stares me in the face every meeting room that doesn’t have to be, you know what I’m saying? Coming in here working, and we just got to do what we can to get him through 16, 17 games and see what happens. Because we think if he plays 17-plus games, we’re going to like the results."
So how do they plan to make that happen?
“Well, that’s the thing… some of the things he gets hurt on are just freaky, man,” Rodgers said. “Look, I’m sitting here watching the first few games before he got hurt, and he was playing dominant — and that’s it. And sometimes that’s the way the cookie crumbles. But where I can help him and take some of ‘em off of it, let me do that. You got this — let somebody else get that and try to do (that) — because this guy will be a big asset to the people.”
At his best in 2021, Davenport tallied nine sacks and three forced fumbles in 11 games with the New Orleans Saints.