Lions Make Big Coaching Staff Shakeup After Week 8 Loss

The feel-good vibes around the Detroit Lions to start the year have evaporated in a flash. Detroit lost its fifth straight game in Week 8 as the offense's big day was wiped out by the defense's continued inability to stop anyone.

Now head coach Dan Campbell has made the decision to shake up his staff in the aftermath of another poor showing.

Detroit Lions Coaching Change

Defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant was fired on Monday. Though Pleasant has been credited with playing a major role in Jeff Okudah's development, Detroit's defense clearly needed to switch something up.

Pleasant was originally hired by Campbell when he took over in 2021. The former Wisconsin Badger rose up the coaching ranks after hanging his cleats up, spending time in various assistant roles with the Cleveland Browns, Washington Commanders and Los Angeles Rams before landing this job with the Lions.

His first season didn't go well, though, with Detroit surrendering the ninth-most passing yards and seventh-most passing TDs per game. Pleasant's unit has been even worse this year, giving up the sixth-most passing yards and ninth-most passing TDs per game. This constant failure to get stops against the pass explains why the Lions keep falling short in shootouts, as they're 1-6 this season despite ranking eighth in points scored.

Moving on from Pleasant is a start, but Campbell is clearly sending a message that the defense must play better. Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn needs to this unit around soon, or he could meet a similar fate.

Detroit will try to bounce back at home against the Green Bay Packers in Week 9. The Lions are currently listed as 3.5-point underdogs on FanDuel Sportsbook's NFL odds.

Isaiah De Los Santos is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Isaiah De Los Santos also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username zayyy05328. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

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