In the aftermath of yet another underwhelming defensive performance, the Lions have made a change on the sidelines. Detroit has fired secondary coach and defensive pass game coordinator Aubrey Pleasant, as detailed by Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Head coach Dan Campbell said safeties coach Brian Duker will take over in his place.
The move comes one day after Detroit lost 31-27 to the Dolphins, adding further to their stark contrast of effectiveness on offense (ranking top-five in the league in yards, and top-ten in scoring) and ineffectiveness on the other side of the ball (last in both total and scoring defense).
Pleasant joined the Lions just last winter, having previously worked as the cornerbacks coach of the Rams for four years. He had also spent time with Washington and Cleveland prior to that. Expectations were high for him, given his track record from Los Angeles, but the Lions’ secondary has struggled mightily due to injuries and inconsistent play throughout the season. The unit has surrendered an average of 266 yards per game through the air, and notched just two interceptions.
One bright spot has been Jeff Okudah‘s return from a torn Achilles. The No. 3 pick in 2020 has been healthy for all seven games this season, occupying a full-time starting role along the way. Pleasant was credited for his role in bringing Okudah back to the form he was drafted to show, but with the team sitting at 1-6, some form of change was considered inevitable.
“I think Aubrey’s a hell of a coach,” Campbell said when speaking to the media about the move (Twitter link via Birkett). “It was a tough decision, but we’re in a production-based business and after seven weeks I felt like this change needed to be made.”
Despite a relative lack of experience, Pleasant has been a name on the DC radar for years now. He interviewed with the Bengals for that position before his move to the Rams. After his performance last year in Detroit, he also drew interest from the Vikings and Saints this winter. As a result, he is unlikely to be out of work for long, while the Lions will look for improvement on the backend of their defense.
Call up Brian flores get on that complaint!
Scapegoat
Campbell should be next if they don’t manage to win at least 5 or 6 games. You can’t keep a coach if they lose that much.
Campbell is a CLOWN. He showed his true colors early. Every year he has a scapegoat, when in actuality he is the one that needs to go. Also tired of the “ they play hard for him.” Well 1-6 the team led by him doesn’t play smart.
Well, that wasn’t very Pleasant of the Lions!
Seems like an odd fall guy, but the defense has been brutal. At the same time, I still believe in Aaron Glenn’s future as a coordinator and it’s hard to see how their defense was supposed to be any good. Outside of Hutchinson, they haven’t poured a ton of resources into that side of the ball, and they’ve had some lousy injury luck (Paschal, Onwuzurike, Okwara) with the defenders they *have* invested in.
Probably because Campbell specifically wanted the corners to be physical at the line and they were not.
That is precisely why they fired him.
Of course, why that couldn’t be communicated during the game is anyone’s guess.
You gotta love when they say things like “he’s a hell of a coach”, then proceed to fire him. Well he couldn’t have been that good if he’s gone!
No happy marriage ends in divorce
Having the coaching staff reduced to a mere 22 is a major crisis. The Lions will have to contribute to league wide bloat by hiring a few more.
Maybe try spending some money on the defense? Lowest salary in the league on the defensive side
After watching hard knocks this year and seeing how Campbell went after coaches who played it seems as though he thought that was the recipe for success. Campbell seems like a good guy. But he’s not a good football coach
I see the armchair experts have already arrived.
I see a complete turnaround on this Lions season. No reason they can’t run the tables and finish 11-6 with a wildcard. Nothing says reset like firing a position coach.
Bleeech!
This team’s Kool-Aid is made without sugar. It’s just sour colored water.