Dan Campbell still not revealing who will call plays for the Lions

Who will call the offensive plays for the Detroit Lions has been a question all offseason, and head coach Dan Campbell is still not ready to reveal it.

After the Detroit Lions bye week last season, with something having to change, head coach Dan Campbell took over offensive play calling from then-offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn. That, along with tight ends coach Ben Johnson becoming passing game coordinator, fostered improvement from the Lions’ offense.

Johnson was elevated to offensive coordinator this offseason. The question over who will call plays has landed with Johnson as the easy, default answer. But nothing has been announced.

Campbell is usually candid and transparent–refreshingly so. But on the play-calling thing he hasn’t directly answered.

So naturally the first question of Campbell’s press conference on Monday, six days from the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, was about who will call plays.

Dan Campbell remains unwilling to reveal who will call plays for the Lions

Via Tim Twentyman of Lions.com:

"This is going to be interesting,” Campbell said, when asked about the play calling for Sunday. “I’m excited to know, too. I’ll be honest with you, I’m not quite there yet. I still have this eagerness to want to call it myself. I don’t know.”"

Johnson called the offensive plays during the preseason, which is the strongest indicator he’ll do so when the games count. For what it’s worth, beat writers in the room did pick up some body language from Campbell that points to Johnson being the play caller.

Last year’s matchup against the Eagles, a 44-6 blowout loss for the Lions, was the game before Detroit’s bye week (Week 8) and the changes to the coaching roles on the offensive side.

So there isn’t a competitive advantage to be gained or lost by Campbell declaring who the play caller will be on Sunday. Those tendencies on film are irrelevant in a few ways anyway–it’s a game from last year, Lynn was the play caller and it was a blowout.

Campbell has carried his coyness about who the Lions’ play caller will be this far, so he may as well take it all the way to Sunday. When Johnson is seen on the sidelines with the big play sheet in his hand, then the world will know what was assumed all along.