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Now that the New Orleans Saints have been eliminated from the NFL playoffs, the Detroit Lions are expected to hire Saints assistant head coach / tight ends coach Dan Campbell as their next head coach, sources said. to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
The two sides have yet to come to an agreement, but that is not seen as an obstacle, and Campbell is the head coach the Lions plan to hire, sources told Schefter.
Campbell replaces Matt Patricia, who was fired in November after less than three seasons with the franchise and a 13-29-1 record, as the club try to recover from last place in NFC North over the past three years.
Campbell, 44, who has never been a coordinator in the NFL, is seen as a motivator and someone who can bring a team together instead of an X’s-and-O’s guru. The Lions had sought out people they saw as Unifiers throughout their search, as they identified the qualities they felt were important in building a winner from a franchise that achieved a playoff victory in the Lions. era of the Super Bowl and won its last division title in 1993.
“I’m thinking of leadership and someone who can work with the CEO,” said team president Rod Wood earlier this month. “And someone who’s had experience as a head coach or you can project that experience as a coordinator as a head coach, and really dive into those kinds of questions.
“Not that we didn’t do this in the search for Matt, but I think that in trying to do it differently, I hope we find the right people.”
Campbell doesn’t have a lot of experience as a head coach, but the Lions have clearly seen enough to pair him up with recently hired general manager Brad Holmes. Without experience in the appeal of plays on either side of the ball, which Campbell brings as coordinator will be paramount to his success.
After staffing, among the first decisions he and Holmes are going to have to make are the future of star receiver Kenny Golladay, who is expected to be a free agent in March, and quarterback Matthew Stafford, whose contract goes through the 2022 season. Campbell may also have to make a decision on a former teammate, longtime snapper Don Muhlbach, who prior to Campbell’s hiring had been the team’s last tie to the winless club in 2008 and is the second longest player. Detroit holder 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 an injured reserve season with the Saints, Campbell began his coaching career with the Miami Dolphins as an intern in 2010 before making his way to the coach. tight ends, then, after Joe Philbin was fired by Miami in 2015, interim coach for the last 12 games of this season.
Campbell went 5-7 with the Dolphins, but didn’t win the full-time job and instead landed with the Saints, where he spent the last five seasons under coach Sean Payton. Learning under Payton in case he got another full-time opportunity was part of the reason he went to New Orleans.
“I would tell you that was # 2 on the list,” Campbell told ESPN’s Mike Triplett in 2018. “# 1 was that I know Sean and I have a history with Sean. I knew him as a person and as a coach. So being reunited with him meant the world. “
The Lions have interviewed at least six candidates for the job: new Atlanta Falcons coach Arthur Smith, new New York Jets coach Robert Saleh, former Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, Kansas offensive coordinator City Chiefs Eric Bieniemy, interim head coach of Lions Darrell Bevell and Campbell. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano reported that the Lions have also made inquiries with Iowa State coach Matt Campbell.
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