In a sea of head coaching changes year after year, it's nice that the Detroit Lions have some major consistency on that front.
Dan Campbell has fully ingratiated himself with the Lions fanbase since being hired in 2021, as he helped bring the team from the doldrums of the league to the top. While 2025 was unbelievably disappointing for Campbell and the team, they're motivated to get back to their 2023 and 2024 winning ways.
FanSided's Jack Beckman recently published a list of 10 NFL head coaches that are best set up for a Super Bowl victory, and of course, Campbell lands in this ranking. Beckman wrote of Campbell, who is 7th on the list:
"When Campbell’s fingerprints are on something, it means that it’s aggressive. Not just in the ‘go for it on fourth down’ sense, but he’s also going to make changes before things get out of hand. A lot of coaches don’t do that, and it has to end up paying off for Dan Campbell at some point… right?"
Campbell given praise for being unafraid of change during Lions tenure
Beckman noted in his section on Campbell that the coach has never been too hesitant to make major changes when necessary - he fired Anthony Lynn after an abysmal 2021 season and hired Ben Johnson, who was so good that he was hired by the Chicago Bears to be the Lions' foil, full-time.
He also was quick to pull the plug on the Lions' John Morton hire, which opened the door for them to give a shot to Drew Petzing for the upcoming 2026 season at OC. And, so far, his promotion of Kelvin Sheppard to DC after Aaron Glenn walked for the New York Jets has looked like a great decision.
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All of these choices, as well as the Lions' roster moves, should help Campbell get another swing at a deep postseason push this year. Should is the operative word here, and we could've said the same about 2025 prior to Frank Ragnow's retirement or the Lions' slew of major injuries. Campbell can only control so much about the teams' play without suiting up himself.
But, if we're going based off on-paper moves from Campbell, it's clear that he's primed to fully realize the Lions' Super Bowl window. He's been one of the best coaches in Lions franchise history, and it feels only right that he gets to experience at least one Super Bowl victory during his tenure.
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