ESPN analyst puts huge praise on Detroit Lions coaching staff

As he continues to grow as a coach himself, one great ongoing credit to Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell is the staff he has assembled. Many are former NFL players like him, which can't be discounted in how the culture has been established in Detroit. In time, more than a few from Campbell's staff may be head coaches.

As ESPN's Ben Solak acknowledged upon unveiling his rankings of NFL coaching staffs (subscription required), ranking coaches and coaching staffs can be a tough exercise. There just aren't as many easy evaluation metrics as there naturally are with players, and the most prominent one (win-loss record) isn't necessarily indicative of how good a coach or coaching staff is.

Solak's staff rankings for 2024 focus on the head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator for each team. It's fair to assume the Lions' trio of Campbell, Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn would be fairly high on the list, right?

Detroit Lions coaches get heady praise from ESPN analyst

Solak has the Lions coaching staff No. 2 on his list, behind only the Kansas City Chiefs.

"There's not a single thing Campbell doesn't do right. He has been consistently correct on fourth-down and 2-point decisions. Perhaps more importantly, his team is behind him when he makes judgment calls on 50-50 calls, as he had to do in the NFC Championship Game loss last season. That's culture right there."

"Culture works in other ways, too. A lot of young players have earned reps and blossomed in Detroit over Campbell's tenure....It's hard to build a locker room of faith and patience like that, and Campbell has done it expertly."

Solak praised Johnson and Glenn on a similar level.

"As non-head-coach play callers go, Johnson is the best in the business."

"And on the other side of the ball? Glenn was voted as the top-ranked coordinator in the league by the NFLPA last season. The metrics of the Detroit defense aren't as good as the offense, but they took a huge step forward in run defense last season. With a revamped cornerback room, the coverage should catch up."

A year from now, one or both of Johnson and Glenn may be a head coach elsewhere in the league. Along with Campbell, the Lions are in a better place at the top of their coaching letterhead than they've ever been.