Lions believe Dan Campbell’s leadership qualities could help them finally start a winning tradition in Detroit.
ALLEN PARK, Mich. – He was not the expected choice or the overwhelming choice of the paying public, either. But none of that will matter if Dan Campbell ends up doing what hasn’t been done consistently with the Detroit Lions in six decades: win. Campbell,44, is expected to be named the head coach of the Detroit Lions now that the New Orleans Saints are out of the playoffs, according to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. It would complete a search that took less than two months and flips one regime to the next. Before that happens, the Lions likely will want to bring him in for a second interview, but barring something unforeseen, this seems to be the direction Detroit is going. Gone are head coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn, with three straight last-place finishes in the NFC North. In are Brad Holmes, largely unknown two months ago as the Los Angeles Rams director of college scouting who impressed enough to land the Detroit general manager job, and Campbell, a former Lions player who spent the past five years learning under Sean Payton. With these hires, something team president Rod Wood said when he spoke to the media two weeks ago continues to stand out. Lions to hire Brad Holmes as GMpic.twitter.com/3nXwdqJ “There’s going to be no surprise I don’t think at the end [with] who we end up hiring on both sides,” Wood said Jan.5. “What we’re looking for is people that can work together and be partners, and not one working for the other necessarily.
