Kelvin Sheppard’s hold on the Detroit Lions’ defensive coordinator job looks secure for now, thanks to a defensive showing that helped power Sunday’s win over the Arizona Cardinals. But in a different corner of the league, a familiar defensive mind could soon become available - and that might be worth the Lions’ attention.
Dan Quinn’s grip on the Washington Commanders job appears shakier by the day. Washington, now 1-3-1, watched a 27-13 fourth-quarter lead against the New York Giants (3-1-1) slip away before the game ended in overtime.
The Commanders did manage a key takeaway in OT on the Giants’ 24-yard line, but the finish got uglier from there. As Washington pushed to the Giants’ 24, poor clock management and a lack of urgency turned the closing sequence into a mess, capped by Jayden Daniels being unable to spike the ball in time and prevent a possible game-winning field goal.
The tie wiped out a chance to build momentum in a wide-open NFC East and took some shine off Washington’s surprise Week 3 win over the Seattle Seahawks. Now the pressure is only growing, and it won’t get any lighter with a Monday Night Football road game against the 5-0 San Francisco 49ers. If the Commanders look flat again, Quinn could be heading toward a bye week firing after a sudden collapse just two seasons after guiding Washington to its first NFC Championship Game in more than 30 years.
If that door opens, the Lions should at least think about it.
Quinn’s reputation as a defensive coach is well established. He earned his two head-coaching jobs - with Washington and before that the Atlanta Falcons - because of what he did as a coordinator.
From 2013 to 2014, he ran Seattle’s “Legion of Boom” defense, which reached back-to-back Super Bowls and won one. That success helped him land in Atlanta, where his six seasons included an MVP year from Matt Ryan and the infamous 28-3 Super Bowl loss.
After a 0-5 start got him fired in 2020, Quinn resurfaced with the Dallas Cowboys in 2021 and quickly changed the temperature of that defense. Dallas went from allowing a franchise-worst 473 points in 2020 to the seventh-fewest at 358 in 2021.
The Cowboys doubled their win total from six to 12, won the NFC East, and Quinn picked up AP Assistant Coach of the Year honors. Dallas then finished with the fifth-fewest points allowed in each of the next two seasons and led the league in takeaways in the first two years of his tenure.
After Quinn left for Washington, the Cowboys’ defense slid hard, giving up the second-most points in 2024 (468) and the most in 2025 (511), while sitting eighth-worst through five weeks this season with 116 allowed.
That’s why the Lions could view Quinn as more than a rescue act for a coach in trouble. If Detroit wanted to add a senior defensive assistant, Quinn would bring a track record that stretches across several high-level stops.
He wouldn’t be the head coach, and he wouldn’t be touching the offense. In that role, he could help Sheppard sort through the growing pains and provide a veteran voice as the Lions’ defensive coordinator continues to shape his own identity.
There’s also a path where Quinn helps stabilize a unit that still needs work. If Washington keeps unraveling and Quinn becomes available, he could step into a defensive role with Detroit’s offense already built to contend and players like EDGE Aidan Hutchinson on the other side of the ball.
For now, though, Dan Campbell isn’t making that move. Asked last week about adding a senior defensive assistant, Campbell said, "Not at this moment, no I have not." He added that he wanted to see how the team played on Sunday before evaluating things during the bye.
Sunday’s defensive step forward likely keeps that conversation on pause. But if the Lions stumble coming out of the bye against the Packers and Quinn is suddenly on the market, Campbell may have a decision to make.
In Other News...
Lions Have One Frustrating Problem To Fix Coming Out Of Bye
The bye week arrives with the Lions feeling good about their latest result, but also staring at a familiar issue that has kept their offense from getting out of the gate cleanly. Through five games, Detroit has moved the ball well enough to rank among the leagues more productive attacks overall, yet the opening quarter has been a noticeably different story, with the offense needing to find a better rhythm before it settles in.
A lot of the frustration has come from the same place each week: early negative plays that stall drives before they really start. Sacks and penalties have repeatedly put the Lions behind the sticks, forcing them to play catch-up long before the second half even arrives. Fixing that first stretch after the break could make the rest of the offense look a lot more like the version Detroit has expected all along. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Look Dangerous Again But One Concern Still Wont Go Away
After a sluggish opening, Detroit settled in and did what good teams do to teams it should beat, rolling past Arizona 45-21 by scoring on seven straight drives. Sam LaPorta, Jahmyr Gibbs, Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams all helped fuel the surge, and Gibbs in particular kept the Cardinals on their heels with repeated big plays on the ground as the Lions found their rhythm and never really gave it back.
The defense also did enough to tilt the game, finishing with five sacks and taking away Arizonas top rushers, but the box score still left a familiar itch. Even in a comfortable win, the secondary gave up nearly 300 passing yards, which is the kind of leak Detroit cannot afford to ignore if it wants this recent offensive burst to mean something beyond one impressive Sunday. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Defense Has One Clear Strength And One Lingering Concern
Through five games of the 2026 season, the Lions have enough to feel good about on defense and enough to keep digging. A 3-2 start has been built in part on a pass rush that has come through consistently, with D.J. Wonnum and Aidan Hutchinson giving Detroit a front that can change a game without much help. The linebacker room has also supplied some production even as injuries have shuffled the group, which has left the defense leaning on depth earlier than planned.
The bigger question sits behind that rush. The secondary has been the more uneven part of the unit, with cornerback changes and coverage issues drawing the sharpest criticism so far. For a team trying to settle into the season, that kind of split identity can be hard to ignore, especially when the front seven is doing enough to keep games manageable but the back end still looks like the area most likely to decide how far this defense can go. [Read more 🡒]