Dan

Campbell

Playing against one of the worst defenses in the league, Campbell showcased his offensive play-calling skills against the Commanders, which was an easy first test that he passed with flying colors. The Lions scored their second-most points of the season in Sunday’s win while averaging an impressive eight yards per play in the drubbing. Under Campbell’s play-calling, wide receiver Jameson Williams also tied a season-high with seven targets in the win and had his most productive game of the season after struggling to get much going over the past month. It was an impressive first showing from Campbell, who will get a tougher test in Week 11 against the Eagles if he continues to call in the plays.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero observed Campbell holding a play sheet on the sideline, reporting that Campbell “is doing the talking into the headset in between plays.” Per Pelissero, there are “lots of indications” of a disconnect between Morton and the rest of the Lions. Recent reports indicate the team is disappointed with WR Jameson Williams’ involvement thus far, and that they hope to give rookie WR Isaac TeSlaa increased opportunities, but this is the most direct callout we have seen regarding a specific Lions staffer. Despite Pelissero’s report, the situation remains somewhat opaque. The Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett notes Campbell held a play sheet last week and questions whether Campbell is actually running the show, offensively. After asking Campbell about it during the Week 10 practice week, Birkett reports that Campbell simply said he has “a million ideas,” and will continue trying new ones each week. It is possible Campbell began taking over play-calling duties during the Lions’ Week 8 bye. We expect beat reporters to chase the story.

O’Connell and the Vikings flamed out in the postseason, but the 39-year-old was able to lead Minnesota to a 14-3 record even with most pundits projecting the team nowhere close to playoff contention. Dan Campbell finished second in voting, with Andy Reid pulling in third.

Campbell hasn’t received any official word on whether or not Ben Johnson or Aaron Glenn will be departing for heading coaching roles with other teams, but Campbell and the Lions’ media clearly see the writing on the wall. Both Johnson and Glenn have been hot names on the head coaching circuit for the last few years, and both appear destined to land head coaching roles in the coming days. While Campbell said that he believes the Lions do have the right people in the building to replace both coordinators, he didn’t rule out the possibility of looking outside of the organization if people are uncomfortable with being put into those roles. It’s going to be a busy offseason for the Lions, who could find both sides of the ball hiring new coordinators to teach new schemes. After seemingly topping out with a 15-2 record in the regular season, it will be interesting to see how they can adjust to a new environment in 2025.

The Lions have already acknowledged their violation and have forfeited a team practice that was previously scheduled for Monday, June 10. The Lions are set to have their final week of OTAs next week, which was planned to run from Monday through Wednesday. With Monday’s practice now canceled, the team will instead get in work on Tuesday and Wednesday before wrapping up their offseason program ahead of training camp.

We’ve come a long way from Campbell’s introductory press conference in 2021 when he talked about his team biting off the kneecaps of their opponents. Campbell drew plenty of criticism from that presser but has all but silenced those critics in the years since. Under Campbell, the Lions have gone a combined 21-26-1 since 2021 and have posted back-to-back winning seasons. Their appearance in last year’s NFC Championship game against the 49ers was a pivotal moment for a franchise that has long been at the bottom of the league and the butt of all jokes. Now, with Campbell under contract through 2027, the team, built on its trademark grit and underdog mentality, will look to make another deep postseason run.

The first scheduling flex of the season has arrived! Two surprising 3-1 teams will now face off in a time slot that will reach a broader scope of viewers. With continued growth to a larger demographic this season, expect more schedule flexes as the season progresses.

The player under investigation, according to Kahler, is not a prominent member of the team. That likely means the player is not fantasy relevant. This is the team’s latest potential violation of strict gambling-related rules implemented by the league in recent years. In April, safety C.J. Moore and wide receiver Quintez Cephus received indefinite suspensions for betting on NFL games, and wide receivers Jameson Williams and Stanley Berryhill received six-game suspensions for placing bets on other sports while at the Lions facility. Williams later said the team had not informed him of the NFL’s rules around gambling.

High-energy Dan Campbell and his upstart Lions will allow HBO’s cameras to film the team’s training camp ahead of his second season as Detroit’s head coach. We can only hope there’s a reference or two to the “kneecap biting” diatribe Campbell delivered upon his shocking hire as the team’s head coach in 2021. The coffee-chugging soundbite machine will guide the Lions -- in Jared Goff’s second year as the team’s starter -- before a national audience. It should be entertaining, if nothing else. The series starts on August 9.

Head coach Dan Campbell started calling his own plays down the stretch last season, and it coincided with much greater offensive effectiveness for one of the league’s worst teams. The Lions have since moved on from Anthony Lynn and promoted TEs coach Ben Johnson to offensive coordinator. Campbell seems to relish his CEO/leadership role, so he will probably hand off play-calling duties if he feels Johnson is up to it. Campbell, though, will have to reckon with his relative success in the role. Either way, we do not expect the Lions’ underlying approach to change much, if at all.