The Detroit Lions announced a surprising new addition to their coaching staff on Thursday.
Former Pro Bowler and Super Bowl Champion Dré Bly is making his return to Detroit and the NFL. Bly will serve as head coach cornerbacks coach for the Lions and Dan Campbell for the foreseeable future. Contract terms were not yet disclosed. He played with the Lions from 2003-06 and returned for a brief stint in 2010 prior to the end of his 11-year playing career.
He got his coaching start in professional football back in 2018. Bly was named the defensive backs coach for the San Diego Fleet of the Alliance of American Football. Most recently, Bly served as the cornerbacks coach at his alma mater North Carolina under head coach Mack Brown for the past four seasons (2019-22). The two sides elected to mutually part ways last month.
A second-round draft pick of the then-St. Louis Rams in 1999, Bly won a Super Bowl ring in his first year in the NFL. He spent time between the Rams, Lions, Denver Broncos, and San Francisco 49ers, before calling it a career.
He was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
Bly has no previous NFL coaching experience, so Campbell will be taking a gamble on his playing career and football acumen, as the Lions look to improve their secondary from the year prior.
