Sad to hear that the Lions’ pride is vanished, and that the most talented and highly compensated quarterback, Jared Goff, has bid farewell.

The coach of the secondary has changed for the Detroit Lions following yet another season of poor performance by the pass defense. Deshea Townsend will take over as coordinator of the defensive pass game and coach of the defense backs. After just one season in that position, former defensive backs coach Brian Duker resigned to join the Miami Dolphins, and Dre’ Bly, the coach of cornerbacks, was let go.

Townsend spent the majority of his 11 NFL seasons as a cornerback with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He began his coaching career in 2011 and spent the previous two seasons as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ passing game coordinator and cornerbacks coach.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell stated this week at the NFL Combine that Townsend “gonna be able to deliver exactly what AG wants on the back end.”

Townsend’s fondness for Glenn dates back to his rookie year in the NFL, when Glenn was a standout cornerback for a brief period of time, according to Justin Rogers of the Detroit News.

Townsend is still taking a full accounting of the players he’s inheriting. Overlayed with that, he’s also being put to work evaluating draft prospects and upcoming free agents as the Lions’ eye changing the cornerback depth chart.

Deshea Townsend sends instant message to new pupils

Townsend had his first meeting with Lions’ beat writers at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis this week. Via Rogers, he had a clear message to his new pupils in the Detroit secondary.

Townsend declared, “You won’t play if you won’t tackle.” “That concludes it. You cannot play if it is on the video that you refuse to tackle. In the end, all I’m looking for are individuals that are willing to make the first move and don’t back down from contact.”

The Lions’ defense last season had the fifth-worst tackling grade in the league, according to Pro Football Focus. Naturally, that’s not entirely on the secondary, but it’s obvious that Townsend wants his team to be a major contributor to its correction.

According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (subscription needed), Townsend is clearly interested in promoting a culture where people must constantly earn their place via competition.