Lions Move to Add Well-Respected John Fox Very Important for Franchise

The Detroit Lions have filled their coaching staff needs quickly this offseason, and while the team didn’t have a dire need for a new assistant, they landed an intriguing staff member.

Detroit had an opening for a senior defensive consultant after the departure of Dom Capers to Carolina last week, and they wasted little time filling the void with another well-traveled coach.

According to ESPN reporter David Newton, former Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers head coach John Fox will be joining the Lions as a senior defensive assistant.

“Former Carolina, Chicago and Denver head coach John Fox appears headed to the Lions as a senior defensive consultant, per league source. Fox had a similar role with the Colts this past season,” Newton tweeted.

Capers held down the role with the Lions, but after he departed it was vacant. Lions coach Dan Campbell had a connection with Fox dating back to his time in New York, where he was the team’s defensive coordinator under Jim Fasell while Campbell was playing tight end.

Fox will add an experienced eye to the mix for the Lions, who will be glad to add his 45 year experience to the staff. Not only has Campbell been able to do this with position coaches, but he he has given himself a leg-up by having several veteran minds around his franchise with plenty of experience.

Fox has coached in big-time games as well as Super Bowls, so he could give the Lions a good idea of how to take the next steps as an organization, and give Campbell a fantastic ear to lean on. To that end, this move is coming at the perfect time for a team like Detroit, who is trying to make a leap after a 9-8 finish.

John Fox Offers Lions Major Experience

One of the better defensive minds in football, Fox has been a fixture in the NFL since breaking into the league as a defensive backs coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1989.

Fox was a position coach until he got his first big break in 1994, leading the Los Angeles Raiders as a defensive coordinator. From there, he went on to be the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants from 1997 to 2001, cracking Super Bowl 35 in his final year.

As a head coach, Fox started off getting Carolina to Super Bowl 38, but was defeated by New England. He would coach the Panthers to two division titles and a 73-71 record before moving on in 2010. In 2011, he landed with the Denver Broncos, going 46-18 with Peyton Manning and winning four NFC West titles and losing in Super Bowl 48 to Seattle.

After leaving Denver, Fox landed with the Chicago Bears in 2015 where he had his worst run of coaching, going 14-34 in three seasons. Fox took some time off coaching, but resurfaced in 2022 working as a senior defensive consultant with the Indianapolis Colts. Now, he departs Detroit for that same role.

Lions 2023 Coaching Staff Taking Shape

Detroit’s staff is starting to come around after facing some major questions earlier this season, and the addition of Fox is just another significant boost to this group.

The Lions have managed to keep offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as well as defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. Both of those coaches coming back were huge for the Lions given the continuity that it provides the team for 2023.

This offseason, the Lions also lost a few key staff members. The team watched Duce Staley depart for Carolina, but worked quickly to replace him with Scottie Montgomery. Additionally, the team also hired Steve Heiden, a new tight ends coach with NFL experience. Detroit lost Todd Wash as defensive line coach, but gained John Scott Jr. from Penn State as his replacement.

Adding Fox to this group will only serve to help the team. He’s got plenty of experience, and is a fantastic defensive mind that should help Glenn and the team as a sounding board to turn things around.