From the moment Dan Campbell took over as head coach of the Detroit Lions, he made it clear he intended to reshape the organization’s identity. A recent ranking of NFL coaching hires over the past several years now reinforces just how successful that vision has been.
When Detroit hired Campbell in January 2021, reactions across the league were mixed at best. Fans remembered his playing days as a tight end and perhaps his brief stint as Miami’s interim head coach in 2015. Others knew he had spent years learning under Sean Payton with the New Orleans Saints. Still, many questioned whether his résumé justified leading one of the league’s most troubled franchises.
Those doubts only intensified after Campbell’s introductory press conference, where his now-famous “biting kneecaps” line drew widespread ridicule. To some, it sounded unserious or even cartoonish, reinforcing the belief that the Lions’ long history of failure would continue.
What was missed at the time was the authenticity behind Campbell’s message. His words were symbolic, meant to describe the toughness and resilience he wanted his team to embody. He wasn’t just addressing reporters—he was speaking directly to players and setting a cultural tone. Whether that approach would translate into results was still an open question.
Early returns didn’t quiet the skepticism. About halfway through his second season, Campbell’s record sat at 4-17-1, and speculation about his future wasn’t unreasonable. Then the momentum shifted. The Lions closed the 2022 season with an 8-2 stretch, finishing above .500 and signaling that something had changed.
The progress accelerated in 2023, when Detroit captured its first division title since 1991 and won two playoff games. Despite a defense ravaged by injuries in 2024, the Lions still finished the regular season 15-2. Even with postseason disappointment, the team has now posted four consecutive winning seasons—a level of consistency long absent in Detroit.
That turnaround earned Campbell the top spot in ESPN analyst Bill Barnwell’s ranking of the NFL’s 37 head coaching hires over the past five years. While some recent Super Bowl participants placed high on the list, Barnwell ultimately put Campbell at No. 1.
Barnwell emphasized just how bleak things were when Campbell arrived. Detroit had struggled mightily under Matt Patricia and interim coach Darrell Bevell, managing only 14 wins across three seasons and going decades without a playoff victory. General manager Brad Holmes initiated a full teardown, including trading Matthew Stafford for draft capital and Jared Goff—then viewed as a contract the Rams wanted to unload. Nearly the entire roster has since been rebuilt, with offensive tackle Taylor Decker standing as the lone significant holdover into 2025.
Campbell is now one of only two head coaches hired in 2021 who remain with their original team, and league-wide turnover has made him the sixth-longest tenured coach in the NFL.
Barnwell closed his evaluation with a striking observation: if one coach hired in the last five years were most likely to still hold his job 15 years from now, Campbell would be the pick. He has become synonymous with the Lions’ resurgence and the public face of the franchise.
With Campbell turning 50 this April, the idea of him leading Detroit for the long haul no longer feels far-fetched. After widespread doubt early on, he has overseen a complete transformation and raised expectations to a level Lions fans haven’t seen in decades.
