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
2 injured at Great Lakes Crossing shooting
Two injured in shooting at Great Lakes Crossing; suspect in custody. Authorities ask public to avoid the area.
Three people are dead and at least two others wounded after shootings broke out at Metro Detroit shopping malls just eight days apart.
The shootings all involved young adults, ages 19-22, who carried weapons, at least one lawfully.
At Great Lakes Crossing Outlets in Auburn Hills on Saturday, a Pontiac man was killed and a woman injured in the food court after an altercation that occurred in a bathroom rekindled in the food court.
In Dearborn, Cameron Watkins and Keonte Seaborn, both 19 and of Detroit, were killed on July 3 at Fairlane Town Center after a July 3 altercation involving three others.
Keianna Hundley, Keonte’s mother, decried the violence that took her son just two years after he graduated from high school.
“Seeing him walk across the stage with a big smile meant everything to me,” Hundley said. “I don’t wish the pain I feel on any parent.”
Great Lakes Crossing mall shooting Saturday
Auburn Hills police said they were patrolling Great Lakes Crossing Outlets at about 5:20 p.m. when they received reports of shots fired in the food court.
A 22-year-old Detroit man and a 20-year-old Pontiac man had an altercation inside the food court restroom at Great Lakes Crossing Outlets earlier. After 5 p.m. Saturday, the Pontiac man, then with another individual, saw and attacked the Detroit man, who had a license to carry a concealed weapon.
The Detroit man fired on the Pontiac man, killing him and wounding a 19-year-old woman who was not identified, according to Auburn Hills police. The Detroit man was taken into custody and was cooperating with authorities but has not been identified by police.
The shooting sent shoppers scurrying for the exits and the mall was closed for the remainder of the day.
Fairlane shopping mall shooting July 3
Police update on fatal shooting at Fairlane Mall in Dearborn
Police update on fatal shooting at Fairlane Mall in Dearborn on Friday afternoon, July 3, 2026.
Early in the afternoon of July 3, several young adults were involved in an altercation at the mall.
Prosecutors determined that Watkins and Seaborn both produced weapons.
Watkins shot Seaborn with the weapon he took from the purse of another person linked to the shooting, Cania Cain, and then continued to “shoot recklessly in the public mall,” officials said. A fourth person, Martinez Long, 19, then shot Watkins, prosecutors allege. Long was arraigned Tuesday in Dearborn’s 19th District Court on one count of carrying a concealed weapon.
Watkins’ death was determined to be a shooting in self defense and no charges were authorized for the homicide
The chaos sent shoppers running for the exits, and one person was struck by a vehicle during the scramble to flee, Police Chief Issa Shahin said.
“Senseless gun violence continues to plague communities across the country,” Shahin said earlier this week. “We are saddened by this entirely preventable tragedy but have to reiterate: We will expend all resources to keep our city safe and hold individuals responsible for dangerous behavior.”
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DETROIT (AP) — Cristopher Sánchez struck out seven in seven innings, Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto doubled and the Philadelphia Phillies ended the Detroit Tigers’ six-game winning streak with a 4-2 victory Saturday night.
The Phillies are 45-25 since snapping a 10-game losing streak April 25 and have the second-highest winning percentage in that span.
Sánchez (11-4) allowed two runs on 10 hits, bouncing back from a career-worst outing against Kansas City. Jonathan Bowlan threw a hitless eighth, and Jhoan Duran had a 1-2-3 ninth for his 24th save.
Trea Turner’s sacrifice fly got the Phillies on the board in the third inning. Derek Hill prevented Zach McKinstry from driving in the tying run with a spectacular diving catch.
Realmuto had a two-run double in the fourth to extend the lead.
The Tigers got one back on Eduardo Valencia’s solo homer in the fifth.
Casey Mize (4-6) worked 5 2/3 innings for Detroit.
Up next
Phillies RHP Zack Wheeler (9-1, 2.28 ERA) was set to face Tigers LHP Tarik Skubal (5-4, 3.06) on Sunday.
A woman died, and a person is in custody, in the aftermath of a two-vehicle crash on Friday evening in Detroit.
An emergency call was placed at 7:39 p.m., reporting the crash at Collingwood and Belleterre streets. The Detroit Police Department said one of the drivers was traveling at a high rate of speed on Collingwood and disregarded a stop sign at the intersection, striking the other vehicle.
The crash killed a woman who is in her 40s and injured a man who is also in his 40s. A medical condition was not available for the injured man.
The Detroit Police Department said a suspect is in custody and they are continuing to investigate.
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