Detroit, MI
From playing days to new Lions coaching job, Deshea Townsend has long admired DC Glenn
Indianapolis — One of the most common questions prospects face from media at the NFL Scouting Combine is which players they model their games after. It provides a simplified scope in which to view a player’s skill set and potential scheme fit.
When Deshea Townsend was entering the league as a defensive back 25 years ago, he wasn’t studying Deion Sanders. That’s not who Townsend saw when he looked in the mirror, and there was no use pretending that’s who he could become. He needed someone who looked like him and played like him to better sense how he could perform at the next level.
The man he kept turning to was Aaron Glenn.
Admiration was mostly from afar, but in one instance, it grew up-close and personal. In a game against the Houston Texans in 2002, Townsend’s Steelers limited the opposition to 47 yards of total offense. That would be good enough for an easy win 99% of the time, but the Texans won the game handily, thanks to a pair of interception returns for touchdowns by Glenn.
Townsend would go on to put together a meaningful career of his own, playing more than a decade with the Steelers, where he won a pair of Super Bowls. Today, his continued admiration for Glenn has led Townsend to Detroit, where he’ll serve on the coordinator’s defensive staff as the Detroit Lions’ secondary coach and pass-game coordinator.
“He’s gonna be able to deliver exactly what AG wants on the back end,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said this week.
Finding the right secondary coach has proven problematic for Detroit. They thought they had their guy in Aubrey Pleasant, but the relationship didn’t last two seasons. And Dre Bly, brought on board last year, was let go earlier this offseason. Up next is Townsend, who has eight years of experience coaching defensive backs in the NFL, including the last two with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
He only joined the team last week, so he hasn’t fully processed the players he’s inheriting. But his room is due for something of an overhaul, particularly at cornerback. With that in mind, the Lions have wasted little time putting him to work evaluating prospects for the upcoming draft as well as soon-to-be free agents.
Townsend’s philosophies are simple. He’s quick to point out there are only five core coverages, and he only has one non-negotiable.
“If you won’t tackle, you won’t play,” Townsend said. “That’s it. If it’s on the tape you won’t tackle, you can’t play. Ultimately, I’m just looking for guys that don’t shy away from contact, that’s willing to throw it there.”
Of course, he’s also looking for guys who can be sticky in coverage and mentally tough, but it all starts with physicality. From there, he’ll seek to foster a culture of camaraderie in the back end of Detroit’s defense. He wants accomplishments and failures to be shared experiences.
“I’m a big believer in we’re all in this together,” Townsend said. “So if you get a pass caught on your (watch), it’s just like I got a pass caught on me. I’ve been saying it for years, when one player makes a play, we all make a play. I think that’s how we have to be. …I think that’s what our unit is going to be. We’re going to play together. We’re going to play for one another. That’s what it should be about.”
The approach certainly worked in Pittsburgh, which long has been viewed as the league’s gold standard for culture. Townsend will try to bring some of what he learned under the tutelage of coaches Bill Cowher, Mike Tomlin and Dick LeBeau to Detroit.
“It’s just the mindset of being a champion,” Townsend said. “Can you be consistent? That’s the one thing that always helps. If you going to be any organization that’s trying to win it’s going to be similar. It’s similar paths to being a champion and being the best and being consistent. I think we see a lot of things the same way (in Detroit).”
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
@Justin_Rogers
In the lead-up to the 2026 NFL Draft, NBC Sports’ Chris Simms gave his one and only prediction of who he believes will be selected in the first round on April 23, including where the Detroit Lions go after at the No. 17 overall pick.
Along with several draft boards and experts, the general consensus is that the Lions will prioritize an offensive tackle with their lone first-round pick, given the dire need to replace now-released Taylor Decker at the left tackle position next season.
In his April 20 prediction posted on X, Simms has the Lions addressing that need by selecting 6-foot-7, 352-pound Alabama offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor at their No. 17 overall draft position.
While there are some mock drafts that predict the Lions trading up to grab their desired draft target, the franchise certainly would not be opposed to Proctor, who is ranked as the No. 2 overall offensive tackle by NFL.com, perfectly falling to them at the No. 17 position.
If Detroit can land Proctor, it would likely be viewed as another successful first-round selection by general manager Brad Holmes and an excellent way to kick off the NFL Draft weekend in the Steel City.
For more Lions coverage, follow us on X, @TheLionsWire, and give our Facebook page a like. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews
DETROIT (WXYZ) — Michigan has some of the greatest natural resources in the country, and those working to protect them met Tuesday for an annual conference.
The fourth annual MI Healthy Climate Conference happened at Huntington Place in Detroit. I had a chance to see some of the innovative ways they are working to protect our environment.
Watch Glenda Lewis’ video report below:
4th annual MI Healthy Climate Conference held in Detroit
“One thing that brings Michiganders together is understanding the beauty and the importance of the environment around us,” said Jeff Johnston with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.
In attendance for the event were 700 speakers and about 50 speakers who are passionate about preserving what’s most precious to the state of Michigan.
“We’re right here on the beautiful Detroit Riverfront, part of the Great Lakes system. We’ve got 3,200 miles of coastline in Michigan on the Great Lakes, 11,000 rivers. I’ve got all these amazing numbers that talk about just how important our relationship with the natural world is,” Johnston said. “To engage in climate action, to mitigate the problems of greenhouse gases and fossil fuels that endanger that environment, endanger our livelihoods and our lives is just some of the most important work we can be doing.”
WXYZ
The conference focuses on green funding and a strong future.
“I worked on a youth magazine to engage young people in conservation,” said Jenny Kalejs, a MI Health Climate fellow in the Upper Peninsula. “So, we do land stewardship protection of ecologically sensitive lands, organizing community partners, so we can better collaborate.”
WXYZ
Michael Goldman Brown Jr. is an MI Health Climate fellow in Detroit.
“I’m sited at Transportation Riders United right here in Detroit, and I’m working on expanding and advocating for better transit here in Detroit but also the entire state of Michigan,” MI Health Climate fellow Michael Goldman Brown Jr. said.
We caught up with a couple of the more than two dozen people working as fellows with a number of nonprofit organizations and green-focused businesses and municipalities to help create an air of change.
“About a third of pollution comes from transportation, from cars and trucks and planes and everybody getting where they need to go,” said Megan Ownens, the director and Transportation Riders United. “So that’s why we at Transportation United are part of this. We want to make sure people have options other than their car.”
WXYZ
Executive director of Community 2 Me Network Shawna Forbes Henry wants to protect Detroit’s footprint.
“Detroit is an area that is heavily impacted by various climate changes and emergencies, so we are here to ensure that our residents have the training that they need, have the economic resources that they need and the have the ability to feed that pipeline for employment,” Henry said.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spoke to all the conference attendees by video, announcing a $1.8 million grant competition for industrial decarbonization, where applicants will come up with cost effective ways to reduce greenhouse emissions.
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