Sunday is the Super Bowl, and for Detroit Lions fans, there are no clear rooting interests. I imagine a lot of people have a hard time rooting for the New England Patriots given their wild amount of success in the 2000s. However, the Seattle Seahawks have been the source of a lot of pain to Lions fans over the year, so they aren’t a particularly fun team to want to root for either.
So if you’re stuck, this post will list all of the Lions connections in the coaching staffs and rosters. Perhaps there’s a former Lions player you were particularly fond of that you’d like to see get a Super Bowl ring.
Let’s take a look at the Detroit Lions connections playing in Super Bowl 60.
Seahawks
- S Quandre Diggs (practice squad)
Diggs was drafted by the Lions in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft, and quickly became a fan favorite and one of Detroit’s biggest draft steals in the modern era. He was aggressive in the run game, had enough ball skills to tally several interceptions, and had a fun attitude that was easy to like. Unfortunately, he clashed with coach Matt Patricia and was traded to Seattle for far lower than his worth. At this point in his career, he’s played more games for the Seahawks than the Lions, which is just a sad thing to see.
Diggs likely won’t be playing in the Super Bowl, as he’s on the practice squad and has only been elevated one for a handful of special teams snaps. Many Lions fans may be offput by the fact that Diggs didn’t want to be plucked from the practice squad by the Lions this season, but I imagine most fans still love him.
- Defensive assistant/linebackers coach Josh Bynes
Bynes is a bit of a blast from the past. After four successful seasons with the Ravens, the Lions signed Bynes to be significant contributor back in 20214, and he gave Detroit three good years. Though he was mostly a special teamer, he did start 11 games for the Lions in 2015 (and eight in 2016).
He ended up making a strong career out of himself, playing 12 years in the NFL. Now he’s transitioned to coaching, where he’s been a defensive assistant for the Seahawks for the past two years, using his connection to Mike Macdonald to parlay that into a post-playing career.
- Assistant special teams caoch Devin Fitzsimmons
Fitzsimmons served the exact same role for the Lions from 2014-18 under special teams coordinators John Bonamego and Joe Marcino. He did briefly hold an interim tight ends coach role with the Lions in 2015 after Ron Prince moved to offensive line coach following the firing of Jeremiah Washburh.
When Marciano was fired in the middle of 2018, Fitzsimmons took over most of the coordinator duties, but in 2019 they opted to bring back Bonamego, instead, and Fitzsimmons jumped to Vanderbilt.
Patriots
- QB Joshua Dobbs
Dobbs has literally been on a one quarter of the NFL teams at this point in his decade-long career, and his time with the Lions was the shortest of them all. He signed to the taem’s practice squad in December of 2022 and never saw the field for Detroit. He now serves as Drake Maye’s primary backup.
- RB Craig Reynolds (injured practice squad)
Reynolds is another fan favorite, after an unconventional rise to Detroit’s RB3 spot after being a late addition during the 2021 offseason. He earned the nickname “Netflix” because he was on the couch before Detroit added him, but a strong preseason performance won him a roster spot. He’s been dependable on offense and a strong special teamer since, but roster maneuvering cost Reynolds his spot on the team, and he signed to the Patriots practice squad in late November. Unfortunately, he lasted just a couple weeks before being placed on the practice squad injured reserve. He won’t play Sunday.
- LB Jahlani Tavai
Tavai is notoriously one of the biggest busts of the Bob Quinn era. Considered a very big overdraft in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft, Tavai only lasted two seasons before he was cut by the team under new management (Brad Holmes, Dan Campbell). Despite his failings under Patricia, Tavai went to the New England Patriots and carved out a strong career. He’s started 51 games over five seasons, and is currently considered a rotational player for the Patriots defense. He’s played in 43 snaps on defense in the playoffs, so you should see at least some of him on Sunday.
- CB Carlton Davis
Davis was the Lions’ top cornerback last year, after Detroit traded a third-round pick to acquire him during the 2024 offseason. There was mutual interest in a return this past season, but contractual negotiations broke down. Per Davis, there was some language he “wasn’t really fond of” in the Lions’ offer, but holds no grudges to the team or management.
After signing a three-year, $54 million deal with the Patriots, Davis has had a strong season alongside Christian Gonzalez. While Davis has been flagged more than any other defensive back in football, he has posted a solid 74.2 PFF grade, good for 16th in the NFL. He also posted two interceptions in the team’s Divisional Round game against the Texans.
- WR coach Todd Downing
Waaaaaayyy back in 2009, Downing served as a quality control coach, before moving to assistant quarterbacks coach (2010-11), and eventually taking the quarterbacks coach role over in 2012-13. So he was in charge early of Matthew Stafford’s development. When the Lions transitioned from Jim Schwartz to Jim Caldwell, Downing was not retained. He lands in New England after serving as Mike Vrabel’s defensive coordinator from 2021-22 with the Titans.
- Defensive coordinator Terrell Williams
One of the best stories of Super Bowl 60 is the return of Terrell Williams, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier this year and hasn’t been on the team’s sideline since Week 1. After being declared cancer-free this postseason, he’ll rejoin the Patriots on sidelines this Sunday.
Williams had a very high reputation when the Lions hired him as defensive line coach/run game coordinator in 2024. He only lasted a season, because the opportunity to re-join Vrabel was too good to pass up for Williams, and now he’s a defensive coordinator for the first time in his coaching career that dates back to 1998.
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