Now that the New Orleans Saints have been eliminated from the NFL postseason, the Detroit Lions should hire assistant Saints head coach / tight end coach Dan Campbell as their next head coach, sources for ESPN’s Adam Schefter said.
The two sides must reach an agreement, but it is not considered an obstacle, and Campbell is the head coach that the Lions intend to hire, sources told Schefter.
Campbell would replace Matt Patricia, who was sacked in November after less than three seasons with a franchise and a 13-29-1 record, as the club try to recover from their last NFC North standings in the last three years.
Campbell, 44, who has never been an NFL coordinator, is seen as a motivator and someone who can bring a team together instead of an X-and-O guru. The Lions looked for people they considered unifying throughout the search, as they identified qualities they considered important to building a winner in a franchise that won a Super Bowl playoff and claimed last division title in 1993.
“I think the management and someone who can work with the general manager,” team chairman Rod Wood said earlier this month. “And someone who had experience either as a head coach or you can design that experience as a coordinator to become a head coach and really immerse yourself in these kinds of questions.
“Not that we didn’t do this in search of Matt, but I think by trying to do it differently, we hope we find the right people.”
Campbell doesn’t have much experience as head coach, but the Lions have clearly seen enough to pair him with newly hired general manager Brad Holmes. No experience in games on both sides of the ball, which Campbell brings as coordinators will be key to his success.
After receiving the staff, among the first decisions he and Holmes will have to make are about the future of star receiver Kenny Golladay, who will be free agent in March, and defender Matthew Stafford, whose contract lasts the 2022 season. Campbell may also have to make a decision on a former teammate, Don Muhlbach, who before Campbell was hired was the team’s last connection to the club without a win in 2008 and is the second longest-lived Detroit player in team history. behind kicker Jason Hanson.
Campbell played 10 seasons in the NFL, including the last three years of his career for the Lions.
After his playing career ended after a season on the injured reserve with the Saints, Campbell began his coaching career at the Miami Dolphins as a coach intern in 2010, before making his way to the tight end coach and then , after Joe Philbin was fired by Miami 2015, interim coach for the last 12 games of that season.
Campbell won 5-7 with the Dolphins, but did not win the full-time job and landed with the Saints, where he spent the last five seasons under coach Sean Payton. Payton’s learning if he had another full-time opportunity was part of why Campbell left for New Orleans.
“I’d tell you he was number 2 on the list,” Campbell told Mike Triplett of ESPN in 2018. “Number 1 was that I know Sean and I have a history with Sean. So, I only knew about him as a person and as a coach. So being reunited with him meant the world. “
The Lions interviewed at least six candidates for the position: new Atlanta Falcons coach Arthur Smith, New York Jets new coach Robert Saleh, former Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, Lions interim head coach Darrell Bevell and Campbell. Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano of ESPN reported that the Lions also asked Iowa coach Matt Campbell.