Detroit, MI

From playing days to new Lions coaching job, Deshea Townsend has long admired DC Glenn

Published

1 year ago

February 29, 2024

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

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Detroit, MI

2025 Detroit Grand Prix: Full list of drivers for IndyCar and Indy NXT races

Published

5 hours ago

May 31, 2025

Press Room

2025 Detroit Grand Prix: Full list of drivers for IndyCar and Indy NXT races

This is the full list of drivers participating in the 2025 IndyCar and Indy NXT races at the Detroit Grand Prix through downtown.

The 2025 Detroit Grand Prix is approaching quickly, with drivers from all around the world looking to capture a critical win on the IndyCar calendar.

The big race is on Sunday, June 1, when the NTT IndyCar series will start at 12:30 p.m., broadcasted on Fox. Before that race, the lower-level Indy NXT circuit will hold its race at 10:30 a.m., televised on FS1. Both can be streamed on Fubo (free trial).

This will be the third race since the Grand Prix returned to downtown Detroit in 2023 after years at nearby Belle Isle. The winner of the first revamped downtown race was IndyCar legend Scott Dixon, while his teammate at Chip Ganassi Racing Álex Palou won in 2024.

Palou is looking to continue his dominance of the 2025 IndyCar season, as the Spanish racer has won five of the year’s first six races, including his first Indianapolis 500 win one week ago.

Here is the field for both of Sunday’s races:

Who is racing in the 2025 Detroit Grand Prix?

Here is the full list of all 27 drivers scheduled to race in the IndyCar Grand Prix in Detroit on Sunday, with drivers listed by car number, team and engine:

#2: Josef Newgarden – Team Penske (Chevrolet)
#3 Scott McLaughlin – Team Penske (Chevrolet)
#4 David Malukas – A.J. Foyt Enterprises (Chevrolet)
#5 Pato O’Ward – Arrow McLaren (Chevrolet)
#6 Nolan Siegel – Arrow McLaren (Chevrolet)
#7 Christian Lundgaard – Arrow McLaren (Chevrolet)
#8 Kyffin Simpson – Chip Ganassi Racing (Honda)
#9 Scott Dixon – Chip Ganassi Racing (Honda)
#10 Álex Palou – Chip Ganassi Racing (Honda)
#12 Will Power – Team Penske (Chevrolet)
#14 Santino Ferrucci – A.J. Foyt Enterprises (Chevrolet)
#15 Graham Rahal – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Honda)
#18 Rinus VeeKay – Dale Coyne Racing (Honda)
#20 Alexander Rossi – Ed Carpenter Racing (Chevrolet)
#21 Christian Rasmussen – Ed Carpenter Racing (Chevrolet)
#26 Colton Herta – Andretti Global/Curb-Agajanian (Honda)
#27 Kyle Kirkwood – Andretti Global (Honda)
#28 Marcus Ericsson – Andretti Global (Honda)
#30 Devlin DeFrancesco – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Honda)
#45 Louis Foster* – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Honda)
#51 Jacob Abel* – Dale Coyne Racing (Honda)
#60 Felix Rosenqvist – Meyer Shank Racing/Curb-Agajanian (Honda)
#66 Marcus Armstrong – Meyer Shank Racing/Curb-Agajanian (Honda)
#76 Conor Daly – Juncos Hollinger Racing (Chevrolet)
#77 Sting Ray Robb – Juncos Hollinger Racing (Chevrolet)
#83 Robert Shwartzman* – PREMA Racing (Chevrolet)
#90 Callum Ilott – PREMA Racing (Chevrolet)

*Rookie of the year candidate

Who is racing in Indy NXT at Detroit?

Here is the full list of drivers scheduled to compete in the Indy NXT race in Detroit on Sunday, with drivers listed by car number and team:

#2 Sebastian Murray – Andretti/Cape Motorsport
#3 Ricardo Escotto – Andretti/Cape Motorsport
#9 Bryce Aron – Chip Ganassi Racing
#10 Niels Koolen – Chip Ganassi Racing
#11 Nolan Allaer – HMD Motorsports
#14 Josh Pierson – HMD Motorports
#16 Tommy Smith – HMD Motorsports
#17 Callum Hedge – Abel Motorsports
#18 Max Taylor – HMD Motorsports
#26 Lochie Hughes – Andretti Global
#27 Salvador De Alba – Andretti Global
#28 Dennis Hauger – Andretti Global
#29 James Roe – Andretti Global
#30 Liam Sceats – HMD Motorsports
#38 Hailie Deegan – HMD Motorsports
#39 Jaun Manuel Correa – HMD Motorsports
#40 Jack William Miller – Abel Motorsports
#48 Jordan Missig – Abel Motorsports
#76 Caio Collet – HMD Motorsports
#99 Myles Rowe – Abel Motorsports

All Indy NXT drivers use AER engines.

How to watch Detroit Grand Prix

Series: NTT IndyCar.

Warmup: Sunday, June 1, 9:30 a.m. ET (FS1)

Race: Sunday, June 1, 12:30 p.m. ET (Fox)

All IndyCar practices, qualifications and races for the Detroit Grand Prix can be streamed on Fubo, which hosts Fox Sports Networks including FS1 and FS2, and offers a free trial to potential subscribers.

Watch the Detroit Grand Prix on Fubo

You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.

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Detroit, MI

Metro Detroit doctor performs CPR during public medical emergency

Published

22 hours ago

May 30, 2025

Press Room

Metro Detroit doctor performs CPR during public medical emergency

DETROIT (FOX 2) – A special reunion on Friday gave a young woman who suffered a medical emergency the chance to thank the person who saved her life.

The backstory:

Emily Morgan was in a fitness class when suddenly Emily collapsed.

Luckily, Dr. Dema Fawaz, an emergency room physician at Corewell Health, was in the right place at the right time.

“I turned around and saw Emily being slowly lowered to the ground,” said Dr. Fawaz. “I sensed a lot of panic in the room and I immediately identified myself and said, ‘Don’t worry, I’m a physician, I can help.’”

Fawaz said she performed CPR until the ambulance arrived, helping save Emily’s life. It was her first time doing CPR outside of work.

Big picture view:

At only 27 years old, Emily survived cardiac arrest, and all she remembers is waking up in the hospital.

“They told me someone in my class had saved me, and I didn’t know who it was. But I immediately recognized her when she came in at the hospital. We’d taken classes together before, and I just didn’t know her name, so it was emotional in the hospital when she came and visited me,” she said.

Meanwhile, the heartfelt reunion was just another reminder of why learning CPR could save a life. Every second counts, and even though Fawaz is a doctor, CPR is not hard to learn, and the more people who know it, the better.

It might just save a life.

Royal OakHealth

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Detroit, MI

Drivers talk competing in Detroit Grand Prix and other sports news

Published

2 days ago

May 30, 2025

Press Room

Drivers talk competing in Detroit Grand Prix and other sports news – CBS Detroit

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The Detroit Grand Prix is here. Drivers discuss being a part of the annual event. Meanwhile, the Michigan Panthers are wrapping up their regular season this weekend.