Skip to content

Condition: Post with Page_List

Listen
Search
Please enter at least 3 characters.

Latest Stories

Lions add three defensive coaches, including Brad Holmes' college position coach

The Lions announced the hires of three new coaches on Wednesday, all on the defensive side of the ball. And all with significant experience in the NFL.

Terrell Williams will take over as defensive line coach/run game coordinator for John Scott Jr., whose tenure with the Lions ends after one season. Williams is entering his 13th season as an NFL coach. He comes to Detroit after spending the last six seasons as defensive line coach for the Titans, who led the NFL in rushing defense in 2022 and allowed the fewest yards per carry in the league during Williams' tenure. The Lions ranked second in rushing defense this year.


Williams, 49, has a unique connection to the Lions: He was Brad Holmes' position coach for three seasons at North Carolina A&T when the Lions GM was a young defensive tackle.

The Lions have also hired former Steelers cornerback and two-time Super Bowl champ Deshea Townsend as cornerbacks coach/pass game coordinator after he spent the last two seasons in the same role with the Jags. Townsend will take over for Dre Bly, who also spent just one season in Detroit. The Lions allowed the second most yards per pass, second most yards per completion and sixth most passing yards per game in the NFL this season as their own Super Bowl ambitions died in the NFC championship game.

The 48-year-old Townsend, who played 13 seasons in the NFL, is entering his 10th season as an NFL coach.

Lastly, the Lions have added Jim O'Neil, who was most recently defensive coordinator at Northwestern, as a defensive assistant. Entering his 12th season as an NFL coach, O'Neil will help the Lions make up for the departures of defensive assistant John Fox and defensive quality control coach Wayne Blair.

The Lions also saw safeties coach Brian Duker, who'd been with the team for all three seasons under Dan Campbell, leave this offseason for a job with the Dolphins as secondary coach/pass game coordinator.

O'Neil, 45, was at Northwestern from 2021-22. His most recent NFL stint came with the Raiders as defensive backs coach from 2019-20.