The Detroit Lions carried momentum from winning eight of their last 10 games in 2022 right into this season, all the way to 12-5 and the NFC North title. With that success comes attention, and other teams who are not as successful wanting to tap into your team's culture by hiring your people for bigger jobs than they have.
Among a lot of things he has done well as the Lions' head coach, the first thing Dan Campbell did might be his best and most important move (or set of moves). He assembled a coaching staff filled with former players, like he is, who could foster buy-in and relate well to players. The team's performance over the last season and a half or so is a payoff of the work Campbell and his staff has done.
But as mentioned, with that success comes other teams who are making changes wanting to hire your people. Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn have already been requested for multiple head coaching interviews each, after both had multiple head coaching interviews last year. Assistant general manager Ray Agnew could get looks for the bigger seat too. Chief Operating Officer Mike Disner is wanted to interview for the Carolina Panthers' general manager opening.
New NFL rules will delay in-person head coaching interviews for assistant coaches who are in the playoffs until after the Divisional Round, and thus those new coaching hires assembling their new staffs will be pushed back a little too.
It's a matter of time before Campbell has to replace Johnson and Glenn, and he seems to know it. It could be this year for one or both, or maybe it waits again.
But on the idea of 2024 alone, including Johnson and Glenn, here are five coaches the Lions could lose to a job elsewhere.
5 coaches the Detroit Lions could lose to another team in 2024
Update: The Atlanta Falcons has submitted interview requests for both Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn.