The Detroit Lions came up short of their Super Bowl dreams in 2024, as they suffered a crushing loss to the Washington Commanders in the Divisional Round.

However, the team was still talked about throughout the week leading up to the big game. Several former members of the organization have reached New Orleans with either the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, along with some former players.

Here is a collection of quotes regarding the Detroit Lions from the week leading up to Super Bowl LIX, via the Detroit Free Press.

On Kelvin Sheppard becoming the Lions’ defensive coordinator:

“I love Kelvin Sheppard. To me, Kelvin Sheppard, if I could make a mini projection, will be a head coach in this league, in my opinion. He was one of the smartest players I had back in New York, and we were fortunate enough to get him. Really smart. He was a lot like Antonio Pierce I had there in New York earlier, and when Kelvin came there I thought he just kind of galvanized all the guys with his football intelligence and just the way he played the game. And you can see it now as a coach now. I knew he’d always be a coach and a really good one.”

On the impact of his time with the Lions from 2009-15:

“You’re in these situations and you think about the guys that you’ve worked with and like Gos Cherilus and Jeff Backus and Dom Raiola and Rob Sims, you know that crew of guys that you worked so hard with and you never got that chance. It’s funny, you think about those guys during these weeks. You’re just grateful for the help they give you as a coach along the way.”

On his time in Detroit:

“I got nothing but love for Detroit. The Lions, man, for sure. That’s the team that took a chance on me, a kid from Brunswick, Ga. So it’s always nothing but love. I root for them every time. I want them to win every game besides the game I’m playing against them in. But yeah man, that’s home. That’s my second home for sure.”

On the impact new Lions defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers had on young defensive linemen for the Buccaneers:

“I’ve been around training camp and these practices and he’s not just going through the motions. He’s not teaching you to win in practice, win in training camp. What he’s teaching wins us championships. Want to know the proof? He has won. And since he got to Tampa, how many times have they missed the playoffs? None. Yeah, they haven’t missed it. This is a guy with that level of experience, bringing it into another team who I foresee going to be doing the same thing, won’t be missing the playoffs any anytime soon.”

On what sparked the 2022 Lions’ turnaround after a 1-6 start:

“The story is we’re in the middle of the second season. We were 1-6, we’rein the D-line room, and I call together just a defensive meeting. Just with the players, kind of come to heart like, ‘What’s going on? What are we needing? What needs to change?’ I get up and I start talking, and one of the guys, I think it was C.J, we called him C.J. and he knows who he is. I looked at him like a little brother because it’s somebody I connected with and pushed and did little things like that. We’re in the meeting and he’s like, ‘Man, Brock, I feel like you checked out a little bit.’ And in all honesty, I did check out a little bit because I made my situation bigger than the team at that point, and he brought me down to reality to say, ‘Man, you checked out. We’re looking up to you, how can you sit up here and say give everything you have if you aren’t.’ That was a humbling realization of people watching you even if you don’t realize. So I had to put my big boy pants on and understand that whatever situation I’m in, these guys don’t have anything to do with it. They deserve 115 percent of me if I say I’m a part of this team, so I gave everything I had after that.”