### **Coaching Staff**
Head coach Dan Campbell begins his fifth season leading the Lions. An 11-year veteran in the NFL, Campbell has 16 years of experience as an NFL coach, spending time as an assistant in New Orleans and Miami, including a brief stint as interim head coach of the Dolphins in 2015.
Since starting with Detroit, Campbell has led the Lions to three straight winning seasons, the first time the franchise has accomplished that feat since 1993-95. They have won back-to-back NFC North crowns as well.
The Lions brought John Morton back to Detroit to be the offensive coordinator after Ben Johnson became head coach of the Chicago Bears. Morton spent the 2022 season as the team's senior offensive assistant and spent the previous two seasons as the Broncos' passing game coordinator. 2025 will be Morton's 23rd in the NFL.
On the defensive side, Detroit promoted Kelvin Sheppard to defensive coordinator after Aaron Glenn took the New York Jets' head coaching job. Sheppard spent 2022-24 as the linebackers coach for the Lions after coaching outside linebackers in 2021. Prior to his coaching career, Sheppard was drafted in the third round by the Buffalo Bills in the 2011 NFL Draft and spent eight years in the league as a player. He returned to his alma mater, LSU, in 2020 as director of player development under then head coach Ed Orgeron.
### **Series History**
The Lions and Bengals have played a total of 13 times. Cincinnati owns a 10-3 record over Detroit and has won seven in a row, not losing to the Lions since 1992.
### **What To Watch For**
The Lions' rushing attack, spearheaded by Gibbs and David Montgomery, finished sixth in the NFL in rushing yards per game in 2024, and both Gibbs and Montgomery ranked in the top-10 in individual rushing yards. The duo will face a revamped Bengals defensive line that brought in DT [T.J. Slaton Jr.](https://www.bengals.com/team/players-roster/t-j-slaton-jr/) in free agency, who ranked first at his position in run stop win rate last season, [per ESPN](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/41040723/2024-nfl-win-rates-top-teams-players-rankings#rswr).