Getty Matt Campbell yelling on the field during a 2020 game.
The Detroit Lions have Dan Campbell entrenched at head coach, but before that moment, the team was looking around at other options and almost landed one of the most premiere young college coaches in the game.
Detroit had interest in Iowa State’s Matt Campbell, and according to some, even offered him a massive amount of money to coach the team. One part of that statement could be true while the other is false, however.
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According to Sports Illustrated insider Albert Breer, the Lions were in fact very interested in Campbell to coach their team and had talks with him about the job. Those talks never were serious enough to spur an offer though, which seems to contradict some earlier reports. In the end, Campbell pulled out of discussions before a formal offer was made.
Breer wrote:
“The 41-year-old Iowa State coach has been a hot name in NFL circles for three offseasons now, and Campbell has been relatively resistant to leaving Ames. But in January, he did at least give the Detroit job some thought. He and Lions special assistant to the owner Chris Spielman have a strong relationship—the two are both from the football-mad city of Massillon, Ohio—and, as such, Campbell spoke with the Lions brass a couple times about the job opening as the NFL hiring cycle got revved up. And Detroit was preparing to fly out to visit with Campbell just before Campbell pulled his name out of the running. Why did Campbell bow out? Iowa State has most of its team from last year coming back, and a few upperclassmen told Campbell that they’d stay, and not head off to the NFL, if he did too. So really it sounds like this was a matter of loyalty (to his players) and timing (having a really good team coming back after last year’s Fiesta Bowl win). And while the Lions were the only team he formally talked with, five of the seven that had openings reached out looking to interview him. It’s understandable if you, as an NFL fan, don’t know much about Campbell. But as we’ve been saying in this space for some time, power brokers in the league are well aware of how good he is. And it’s fair to assume that will manifest in more opportunities down the line. As for right now? I don’t know if the Lions’ getting on that plane and visiting Campbell would have led, eventually, to an offer being made. What I do know is that one wasn’t made. And, again, that Detroit’s not alone in its interest in the Cyclones coach.”
The Lions as well as multiple other teams were apparently interested in Campbell, but it appears the Cyclone boss only seriously considered the Detroit job in the end, even as he pulled his name out of the running early on in the process.
Earlier Report Had Matt Campbell Turning Down Huge Lions Offer
According to CBS Sports college football writer Dennis Dodd last week, Detroit was offering Campbell a massive contract to jump ship and hit the NFL. The coach was supposedly offered an eight-year deal with some level of roster control.
Matt Campbell comes in at #9 in our ranking of the top Power 5 coaches in CFB.
@dennisdoddcbs thinks he should’ve taken the 8-year $68.5m offered by the Lions
@TomFornelli didn’t even have Campbell in his top 15
Ferentz is #17 btw
Full rankings here:
t.co/1yG8irPKpd
Here’s what he said:
“In the offseason, he turned down an eight-year, $68.5 million dollar offer for the Lions apparently with full control, I haven’t confirmed that, to stay at Iowa State. If I’m Matt Campbell’s wife, I’m having some questions. But, he sees his upward arc better at Iowa State than the Lions who are annually in disarray. But Look, I’d take that money and take that chance at disarray with the Lions for the next eight years over Iowa State, but he is the ultimate loyal guy.”
Will that loyalty pay off in the end or did Campbell overplay his hand? The Lions simply continued with their search and landed Dan Campbell, who had NFL experience and has an unquestionable command over a room. They also didn’t have to pay nearly as much money to land the other Campbell, which is something that Detroit’s new boss made light of during his introductory presser.
Either way, it’s clear the Lions were prepared to think outside the box this offseason by their own standards by looking at a college coach, even if the interest never paid off in a hire.
Lions Had Diverse Coaching Search
Detroit was long rumored to have interest in trying to woo a coach from the college ranks, with Pat Fitzgerald near the top of the list in terms of possible hires in addition to Campbell. In terms of other NFL position coaches on the list, the Lions looked at most of the big ones, including Eric Bieniemy, Robert Saleh and even former NFL boss Marvin Lewis.
With those names and both Campbell coaches, it’s clear the Lions were prioritizing a very high degree of leadership and character in their next boss. No matter who they hired, it’s clear the team would have come out ahead in that department. In terms of risk, a college coach will always have a higher degree of that given the propensity of some to flame out, but after watching Matt Rhule transition with the Carolina Panthers, it’s hard to blame the Lions for shooting their shot with Campbell.
It will be interesting to see if he transitions to the NFL in the coming years and what might come of his career after he flirted with Detroit.
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NFL Insider Clarifies Lions’ Involvement With Matt Campbell