Kelvin Sheppard’s title with the Lions might be new, but he’s not an unfamiliar face around the Detroit organization — or to the Vikings.
Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson has known Sheppard, the Lions’ new defensive coordinator, since he was a teammate of his brother at LSU.
“It definitely will be great to see how he covers me, especially with the past talk — he’s been talking about how he’s been covering me throughout the games,” Jefferson said, a chuckle slipping out before he continued. “It’s gonna be fun.”
Sheppard, who spent the past four seasons as the Lions’ linebackers coach, was internally promoted on coach Dan Campbell’s staff after Aaron Glenn was hired as the New York Jets’ head coach. Former Denver passing game coordinator John Morton was brought on as offensive coordinator to replace Ben Johnson, now Chicago’s head coach.
Jefferson said he sees little difference in how Sheppard runs the defense, a sentiment shared by Vikings running back Aaron Jones on Wednesday and offensive coordinator Wes Phillips on Thursday.
“There are some small, schematic differences where you can see that Kelvin’s put his touch on it, but similar in that they’re very aggressive. Very physical,” Phillips said. “They’re a smart, smart group. They challenge you in a lot of ways.”
But Morton, the outside hire, also stuck to the Lions’ script, at least in the eyes of Vikings personnel preparing for Detroit ahead of the teams’ noon Sunday matchup at Ford Field.
Part of that is Campbell and the strong identity he has created for his team, anchored by a mentality of physicality and going for it on fourth down in almost any situation. This season, the Lions are 8-of-13 on fourth-down conversion attempts.