In the wake of Jimbo Fisher's firing, Bruce Feldman of The Athletic put it out there-however tentatively. Any follow-up mention of it riled up Detroit Lions fans.
But would Texas A&M, Dan Campbell's alma mater, reach out to see if he would be interested in their job opening? The answer would surely be no, but it certainly behooved them to find out for sure. And maybe, just maybe, he'd be willing to let the conversation extend beyond a quick "no thank you."
Not that he would exercise it, but interest from his alma mater could give Campbell leverage to get paid more by the Lions. So there's a benefit to him if Texas A&M showed interest, and money is clearly no object there since they'll pay Fisher a $76 million buyout. There's a "make him turn it down" element in play, for sure.
Dan Campbell quickly removed himself from the running for Texas A&M job
On Tuesday night, Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports reported Campbell is not expected to be a candidate for the job at Texas A&M.
"Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell is not expected to be a candidate for the Texas A&M vacancy, sources told CBS Sports on Tuesday. After backchannel communications were initiated by the Aggies, it was made clear that Campbell would be staying in the NFL with the Lions."
So Texas A&M quickly went through back channels to see if Campbell was interested in the job, as they absolutely should have. And exactly along the lines of what we wrote last Sunday, Campbell shut it down and made it clear he's staying with the Lions.
"Texas A&M may go through whatever back channels to see if Campbell is interested in coming back to replace Fisher. But it takes two to tango, and the Lions' head coach is sure to say no thank you if his alma mater extends its hand."
So for all the calling out of any and all speculation about it as lame, stupid, ridiculous, etc., the expected outcome happened. Campbell turned down his alma mater as quickly as they tried to find out if he was interested in their job.