OT:Loins make it official , Dan Campbell 6 Year deal to be head coach

Submitted by GoBlueBill on January 20th, 2021 at 11:56 AM

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/lions-hire-saints-assistant-dan-campbell-as-new-head-coach-reportedly-strike-six-year-deal/

Seems like kind of a long deal , especially for someone who had never been an NFL head coach previously .

But  of course the Lions know what they are doing by locking him in....

Congrats , Lions fans ?

MGoBoard
Football

Watching From Afar

January 20th, 2021 at 12:16 PM ^

That 5-7 record doesn't strike me as particularly terrible. They were a 7-9/8-8 team under Philbin for 3 straight seasons and then fired him in the middle of the year after starting 1-3. Becoming the HC of a mediocre team in the middle of a season and going 5-7 is... ok I guess? The next season they went 10-6 and made the playoffs under Gase (that does look bad in comparison) but they didn't really beat any good teams that season. Had a decent roster with (healthy) Ajayi, Landry, Parker, and Stills, though Tannehill had yet to be good.

Doesn't move the needle for me. Just kind of meh. Could surprise and be competent or could be what we expect from a Lions hire.

Joined: 10/10/2016

MGoPoints: 15996

yossarians tree

January 20th, 2021 at 12:16 PM ^

"Dude must know where the bodies are buried..."

This is on brand for the Lions. Years ago Russ Thomas was made GM because he helped William Clay Ford get cured off the Wild Turkey. Dude knew nothing about pro football and he alienated all his best players because he couldn't part with WCF's money. 

Say this about the Ford's, they choose incompetence but at least they are loyal. This is what you get out of third generation trust fund legacies. One of these times they will make the correct choice in spite of themselves. Maybe Holmes/Campbell finally gets it.

Joined: 08/19/2010

MGoPoints: 22292

M-GO-Beek

January 20th, 2021 at 12:51 PM ^

This!! Anyone signing up to be the Lions head coach (even amongst the extreme narcissists the coaching fraternity typically employs) has to know their days as a head coach are numbered, or at least will be a significant off ramp in the trajectory of their career.  The best Campbell can hope for is to somehow squeeze through his time with the Lions to use it as a "lessons learned" period for future success with another team, a al Bill Belicheck did with the Browns AND the Jets. Of course Bill Belicheck is one of the GOAT, so maybe that isn't an ideal comparison for Campbell.

Joined: 02/03/2015

MGoPoints: 5638

RandallFlagg

January 20th, 2021 at 2:20 PM ^

I don’t know.  Guy comes in with zero expectations.   If he loses then so what every coach loses on Detroit. If he wins, he moves on to a better job.  Gets fired, big deal, he still gets paid.  And if I was the GM, I wouldn’t have a HC, just go with an OC and DC. 

Joined: 10/31/2020

MGoPoints: 4230

nerv

January 20th, 2021 at 12:19 PM ^

Who was the last Lions coach to survive 6 seasons? Maybe Wayne? Not sure why theyre so excited to pay him an extra 3 seasons after he gets fired during year 3.

Joined: 04/14/2009

MGoPoints: 14072

befuggled

January 20th, 2021 at 12:28 PM ^

Definitely Wayne Fontes. Somehow they kept Schwartz around for five years, although I guess he did make the playoffs once. 

Then they decided to fire Caldwell, the only non-interim coach to have a winning record since Joe Schmidt. (Gary Moeller was the interim coach with a winning record.) 

Joined: 07/01/2008

MGoPoints: 9967

Carpetbagger

January 20th, 2021 at 12:46 PM ^

Hindsight being 20 20 Caldwell had some health issues not long after the Lions canned him. I wasn't real happy with him getting let go either, but thought he had brought the team about as far as he could.

I'm assuming Moeller still had some "outside issues" as well. He didn't last long in coaching after that stint, in declining roles.

Joined: 12/31/2010

MGoPoints: 6585

M-GO-Beek

January 20th, 2021 at 12:54 PM ^

Maybe that's the answer. If Schwartz got 5 years, then maybe the Lions know their history of unwarranted loyalty and would prefer to not have to deal with explaining why they are giving a coach who just went 5-11 a 2-year extension instead of firing what would otherwise be a lame duck coach.

Joined: 02/03/2015

MGoPoints: 5638

Frito Bandito

January 20th, 2021 at 12:22 PM ^

I may be the minority here but I actually like this hire. He’s an expert motivator and his players love to compete. It’s something the lions haven’t had in a long time.

Joined: 03/01/2012

MGoPoints: 9805

Wolverheel

January 20th, 2021 at 12:27 PM ^

You’re in the minority here because this board is full of cynical complainers, but most Lions circles I’m a part of are fairly optimistic, particularly due to the praise that those around him (especially players after Patricia’s inability to connect with them) have given him.

Joined: 03/30/2013

MGoPoints: 1656

Carpetbagger

January 20th, 2021 at 12:38 PM ^

I'm in the minority because outside of him being a player I remember playing I know nothing about him other than what I've read over the last week. I have no opinion one way or the other right now.

I will say both the new GM and coach have thin resumes. That makes me a little nervous. On the other hand the Lions have tried every conceivable method of hiring a GM/coach and they have all failed, so why not give the guys a chance.

 

Joined: 12/31/2010

MGoPoints: 6585

Mike Damone

January 20th, 2021 at 12:43 PM ^

Agreed.  I like this hire better than some of the other possibilities.  Marvin Lewis is a retread and just needs to call it a day.

The problem with the Lions is easily identified - the 3rd generation of the Ford family are fuck-ups and losers, pure and simple.  They should sell the team and go enjoy their trust funds on the French Riviera.  Bad enough they screwed up the car company - do they have to ruin pro football for Lions fans as well?  Guess the answer is yes. 

Joined: 09/02/2017

MGoPoints: 24178

Champeen

January 20th, 2021 at 12:34 PM ^

So i am a documentary guy.  In watching a Ford documentary YEARS ago (how i remember this i dont know) - After Edsel Ford (Henry Ford's son) passed away at a young 49, and after a few years later Henry Ford stepped down as President of the company a 2nd time (he gave it up to Edsel, then took it back after he unfortunately passed) - Henry Ford II (Edsels oldest son) took over as President.  William Clay, the youngest of Edsels children, had an excellent position at Ford, was on the board, and was obviously a high end decision maker. His older brother, Henry Ford II, wanted to get William the hell out of the business because he was simply awful.  It was sometime in the 60's (maybe early 70's??) i believe when the Fords basically bought the Lions and placed William as owner/in charge (so he would still feel important) so they could get him the hell out of the Ford business and quit meddling/screwing things up.  Now he could impede another business and not the Ford Motor Company.

This pretty much sums up the Lions to this date.

Joined: 04/07/2011

MGoPoints: 14970

uminks

January 20th, 2021 at 1:39 PM ^

He became minority owner in 1961 and wrestled the ownership away from the two guys, Anderson and Fife, who had the championship years in the mid and late 50s. He became full owner of the team since about the time Kennedy was assassinated in November of 63. Now his daughter is doing about the same type of lame job. We'll see if the new GM and new coach will make a difference.

Joined: 11/10/2009

MGoPoints: 32049

scfanblue

January 20th, 2021 at 12:35 PM ^

I wonder which organization is in the most chaos and leaderless at this moment in time; the Detroit Lions or the University of Michigan football program? I guess time will tell. I am sure Harbaugh will be adding many more Co-Coaches, and analysts in the next couple of weeks while planning the next springtime vacation next year if he survives the 2021 season. 

Joined: 06/02/2015

MGoPoints: 2067

M-GO-Beek

January 20th, 2021 at 1:34 PM ^

While I am no Harbaugh apologist, I'm pretty sure Harbaugh has had more 10-win seasons in past 6 years than the Lions. While Harbaugh has not performed anywhere near the level we had hoped, there is literally no way to equate UM football with the utter disaster the Lions have now been since the dawning of the Super Bowl. 

Joined: 02/03/2015

MGoPoints: 5638

Judge Smails

January 20th, 2021 at 12:37 PM ^

SIX-year deal for a guy no one else wanted. Hired by Ford and financial manager Rod Wood without the input of the new GM who they've already made a eunuch with this hire. I mean, what could go wrong? So on brand though. #since57    

Joined: 05/02/2009

MGoPoints: 3298