ALLEN PARK -- When speaking to reporters last week, Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard referred to fifth-year linebacker Derrick Barnes as a little brother.
But according to Barnes, “Shepp” doesn’t just have that relationship with him -- he shares it with multiple players on the Lions’ defense.
When speaking with MLive, Barnes said one big reason players trust Sheppard is his ability to professionally balance his role as coordinator with also being someone they can confide in personally, knowing what’s said will stay with him.
“He’s just a guy you can trust. You know if you tell him something, he’s going to keep it to himself, which is big for me as far as respect and things like that,” Barnes said.
So where does this ability to connect with players come from?
Before joining Dan Campbell’s staff in 2021, Sheppard spent one season (2020) at his alma mater, LSU, serving as the football program’s director of player development. In that role, he helped shape the on- and off-field lives of players inside the Tigers’ locker room.
“That’s very interesting that you brought that up, because I tell everybody that made me the coach that I am,” Sheppard said. “Because you have to understand the person before you understand the player. You’re never going to get through to the player if you don’t know the person, and it’s as simple as that. And I respect these guys as people first. And it helps that I sat in that seat, and I know what it feels like to be a number versus a person.
“And when you see them as people, they see you as a person. And that’s relatable. Like in this game, that’s relatable. You can coach them a certain way when they know you have their best interest.”
That perspective carried over when Sheppard transitioned from player development into coaching.
“That role that I had at LSU was a beautiful thing. A lot of it was chasing kids around, making sure they were in class, not in class, ‘Where are you? Why are you doing this? You can’t talk to the coach like that.’ But I learned throughout that it’s all different types of people, man. It’s ones who get it the first time, it’s ones who learn from others, and then it’s ones who take more that take multiple times.
“And that’s also schematically. You can’t give up on people. Like, everybody deserves a second chance, but also within that, the person you’re giving a second chance has to understand there may not ever be a third. So, it’s a lot of lessons in life that I learned from that that’s helped me become the coach that I’m becoming.”
Through four games this season, the Lions boast one of the NFL’s top defenses. They rank second in sacks (14) and are top 10 against the run, allowing just 94 rushing yards per game.
While Sheppard is building trust and strong relationships off the field, his work on it is helping shape a defense that has become one of the league’s most formidable units.
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