After the Detroit Lions hired Dan Campbell as their next head coach, the main concern of many was the staff he would build around him. Honestly or not, Campbell’s perception was that he wasn’t a schematic coach and therefore needed brilliant minds to surround himself with if the Lions had a chance to keep up with the current NFL.
He’s already silenced many of those doubters by hiring a staff full of coaches who even praise some national experts:
I appreciate what the @Lions do with their front office and coaching recruitments. They have a collection of former ones #NFL players to rebuild the program. Chris Spielman, Ray Agnew, Dan Campbell, Anthony Lynn, Duce Staley & Aaron Glenn graduated from field to FO / coaching ❤️
– Bucky Brooks (@BuckyBrooks) January 27, 2021
Lions who gather a great staff
– Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) January 27, 2021
When Lions team chairman Rod Wood introduced Campbell to the media a few weeks ago, he said he was hired in part because Wood was told by Saints general manager Mickey Loomis that “ coaches are going to Detroit and want his staff. ”
That indeed seems to have been the case. But how did Campbell do it?
In a few one-on-one interviews with the local media, Campbell explained his process.
First, it was about criteria, which Campbell simplified into two essential assets: a first-class coach and a first-class person. It cannot be one or the other. It had to be both.
“I swore up and down I wouldn’t do it, if I got back in this chair I refused, even if he’s an excellent person, whom I know a lot, an excellent person who coaches, but he’s a average coach, I’m not doing it, ”Campbell told Detroit News. “That’s how you create average players. These would become first-class people who were first-class coaches across the board. “
And while there were a few hires that came out of Campbell’s personal history – defense coordinator Aaron Glenn coached with him in New Orleans, special teams coordinator Dave Fipp overlaps with him in Miami – the new Lions head coach got him out. its own bubble.
“I refused to hire my friends who are average coaches or the man I owe, but an average coach is just an excellent person because that’s how you become average,” Campbell told ESPN.
It has become clear that Campbell has preferred former NFL players on his coaching staff. Running backs coach Duce Staley, offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn, Glenn and former regime offensive coordinator Hank Fraley have all had long playing careers. But this trend in hiring just happens to be coincidental, according to Campbell.
“I didn’t write ‘I’ll only get ex players’ or ‘Find as many ex players as possible,'” Campbell told Detroit News. “I really didn’t start that process. I honestly didn’t think like that.”
Regardless of his thought process, the Lions undoubtedly scored a number of coaches that were in high demand elsewhere. Fraley interviewed two other teams before choosing to stay in Detroit. Glenn was a coach who scored a head coaching interview with the Jets a few weeks before the Lions hired him. And Duce Staley was one of the most coveted coaches out there after asking the Eagles for permission to leave after their own coach changes. Campbell immediately jumped up.
The next thing I know, someone said, looks like Duce might get out of there, like Chicago, so I’m like, ‘Hey, Duce. Duce, I thought you were staying, ” Campbell told ESPN. So I went after him and he was all on board. He wanted to be here. He wanted to be something special. “
The Lions coaching staff looks solid on paper and Detroit’s trial looks much more thorough than in previous seasons. We’ll see if it ultimately translates into wins on the field.