Getty Dan Campbell on the field against the Browns in 2021.
The Detroit Lions found another way to lose against the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving Day, and while the coaching staff hasn’t been a direct reason for a lot of the team’s failures in 2021, that was not the case this time around.
Detroit managed to lose 16-14 despite holding yet another fourth quarter lead and blowing it, and a big reason why was the coaching staff. The Lions coaches did not manage to have their best day especially in crunch time, and that has led to plenty of commentary on the internet in the aftermath of the loss.
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After Campbell put on a poor performance against the Bears, folks had plenty of hot takes on the internet and were clearly unimpressed with the coach.
Some folks, such as Warren Sharp, took to using music to rip Campbell’s coaching abilities in a pretty comedic way.
Dan Campbell’s end of game management
The performance of Campbell led many to think that the team should simply fire him along with Chicago coach Matt Nagy tonight, who might actually be on the hot seat.
Dan Campbell and Matt Nagy should be fired tonight
As Jason McIntyre tweeted, any bit of goodwill that the Lions saw Campbell build up with close losses should be gone now as a direct result of this game.
Whatever equity Dan Campbell built up the few times his team was competitive this year … it’s gone now.
That final 2-minutes of coaching and timeouts … yikes
Some even went so far as to proclaim that the Lions should add a kid to the coaching staff who plays Madden to help Campbell with in-game decision making.
Someone wanna get Dan Campbell a 12-year-old on Madden to manage the game?
Perhaps the best comment revolved around kneecaps, a Campbell staple. Eating other kneecaps can’t happen, however, until the team stops eating their own.
so glad the dan campbell bandwagon has ended. only kneecaps this team is taking, is their own.
Add it all up and the loss was another black eye for the Lions, specifically thanks to how it played out. Campbell didn’t deliver the goods in crunch time as a coach, and most people were noticing and mocking the boss for this.
Lions Fell Apart Against Bears Thanks to Campbell’s Coaching
A a big reason to blame Campbell for the Lions loss? The way the final five minutes of the game was handled from a Detroit perspective. The Lions had penalties and multiple mistakes, such as Campbell struggling with timeout usage, some of the basic fundamentals of being a coach. Campbell whiffed when he attempted to call back to back timeouts, which is a five yard penalty. That call effectively ended the game, especially when Detroit’s defense failed to get a key stop on third down which allowed the Bears to run out the clock and escape with the win.
Without Campbell and the staff’s gaffe, the Lions may have had a shot to come back and get the football. The penalty, however, allowed the Bears an easier conversion and helped the Lions lose any time they had on the clock. It was also a basic rule that a football coach in the league should have understood. Campbell didn’t and it ended up costing the team in crunch time.
Campbell’s Future With Lions Likely Uncomplicated
Despite folks calling for Campbell’s dismissal, the Lions aren’t likely to fire their first-year head coach no matter how big an embarrassment this game was on a national stage. Campbell has a five-year contract and the team knows the situation is a rebuild for the Lions in a big way. As a result, it would be stunning if the team were to make a panic move and fire Campbell no matter how the season finishes or what plays out. The team is more likely to stick with Campbell now and try to build around him for the future.
Even though that is the case, it’s impossible to hide from the ugly way this game ended in Detroit.