You are on page 1of 4

Sources: Lions expected to hire Saints'

Campbell
DETROIT LIONS 1h - Michael Rothstein

Sources: Falcons to hire Saints'


Fontenot as GM
ATLANTA FALCONS 1h - Mike Triplett

History-making Fuller invited to


inauguration
VANDERBILT COMMODORES 6h

The MLB teams with the most serious


work still to do this offseason
MINNESOTA TWINS 16h - Buster Olney

First look at Bucs-Packers, Bills-Chiefs:


Matchup previews, X factors, big
questions, more
BUFFALO BILLS 1h - Kevin Seifert and …

What now for Drew Brees and the


Saints? NFL experts debate their title
window, future at QB
1h - ESPN NFL Experts

Helwani: How a calm, focused Conor


McGregor surprised me as UFC 257
nears
15h - Ariel Helwani

2020 NFL season in review: How the


season finished, what's next for
eliminated playoff teams
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 1h - NFL Nation

Sources: Detroit Lions expected to


2021 NFL draft order: Top 28 picks set,

hire New Orleans Saints assistant


with Jags, Jets, Dolphins at the top
1h - ESPN staff

head coach Dan Campbell


How Messi finally saw red after 753 zen-
like Barcelona matches
2h - Graham Hunter

Predictions and updates for every top


remaining MLB free agent
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS 3d - MLB I…

Man United's title hopes boosted by draw


at faltering Liverpool
9h - Mark Ogden

2021 Australian Open: News, quarantine


updates from Down Under
4h - ESPN staff
 Share with Facebook  Share with Twitter

Michael Rothstein 10:01 PM ET


 ESPN Staff Writer


Now that the New Orleans Saints have been eliminated from the NFL
 postseason, the Detroit Lions are expected to hire Saints assistant head
coach/tight ends coach Dan Campbell as their next head coach, sources told
 ESPN's Adam Schefter.

@ The two sides still need to work out a deal, but it is not considered an obstacle,
and Campbell is the head coach the Lions plan to hire, sources told Schefter.
°
Campbell would replace Matt Patricia, who was fired in November after less
than three seasons with the franchise and a 13-29-1 record, as the club tries to
reset from finishing last in the NFC North the past three years.

The 44-year-old Campbell, who has never been a coordinator in the NFL, is
viewed as a motivator and someone who can bring a team together instead of an
X's-and-O's guru. The Lions had been searching for people they considered
unifiers throughout their search as they identified qualities they deemed
important to building a winner out of a franchise that has one playoff win in the
Super Bowl era and claimed its last division title in 1993.

2021 | NFL Head Coach Openings


• Grading the hires: Why we like Smith in ATL »
• Latest buzz on coach openings »
• Jaguars' Meyer must answer key questions »
• Why Saleh will be a home run for Jets »

"I think leadership and somebody that can work with the general manager,"
team president Rod Wood said earlier this month. "And somebody that has had
experience either as a head coach or you can project that experience as a
coordinator into being a head coach, and really diving into those types of
questions.

"Not that we didn't do that in the search for Matt, but I think trying to do it
differently, hopefully we'll find the right people."

Campbell doesn't have much experience as a head coach, but the Lions clearly
saw enough to pair him with recently hired general manager Brad Holmes.
Without experience calling plays on either side of the ball, whom Campbell
brings in as coordinators will be paramount to his success.

After staffing, among the first decisions he and Holmes are going to have to
make is on the futures of star wide receiver Kenny Golladay, who is slated to be
a free agent in March, and quarterback Matthew Stafford, whose contract goes
through the 2022 season. Campbell also might have to make a decision on one
former teammate, long-snapper Don Muhlbach, who before Campbell's hire
had been the team's last connection to the winless 2008 club and is Detroit's
second-longest-tenured player in team history, behind kicker Jason Hanson.
Campbell played 10 seasons in the NFL, including the final three years of his
career for the Lions.

After his playing career ended following a season on injured reserve with the
Saints, Campbell began his coaching career with the Miami Dolphins as a
coaching intern in 2010 before working his way up to tight ends coach and then,
after Joe Philbin was fired by Miami in 2015, interim coach for the final 12
games of that season.

Campbell went 5-7 with the Dolphins but did not earn the full-time job and
instead landed with the Saints, where he spent the past five seasons under
coach Sean Payton. Learning under Payton in case he got another full-time
opportunity was part of the reason Campbell went to New Orleans.

"I would tell you that was No. 2 on the list," Campbell told ESPN's Mike Triplett
in 2018. "No. 1 was I know Sean and I have a history with Sean. So I just knew
about him as a person and as a coach. So to be reunited with him meant the
world."

The Lions 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 City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric
Bieniemy, Lions interim head coach Darrell Bevell and Campbell. ESPN's
Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano reported that the Lions also inquired with
Iowa State coach Matt Campbell.

 Share with Facebook  Share with Twitter

You might also like