Tag: Dan Campbell

Report: Chargers, Seahawks request interviews with Saints assistant Joe Lombardi

The Los Angeles Chargers and Seattle Seahawks want to interview New Orleans Saints coach Joe Lombardi, the former Detroit Lions play caller.

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Another member of the New Orleans Saints coaching staff could soon be on the move. Both the Los Angeles Chargers and the Seattle Seahawks have filed requests to interview Saints quarterbacks coach Joe Lombardi, per the Athletic’s Jeff Duncan.

L.A. is seeking an offensive coordinator for first-year head coach Brandon Staley’s staff, while the Seahawks are looking to replace Brian Schottenheimer, who they fired after three seasons calling plays for Seattle. Duncan noted that Staley and Lombardi have worked together before — Staley was quarterback at Mercyhurst University back in 2005, when Lombardi held the coordinator job.

Lombardi has left New Orleans once before, having joined the Detroit Lions as offensive coordinator on Jim Caldwell’s staff in 2014. But his style of offense wasn’t a great fit with Matthew Stafford and the Lions supporting cast, and Lombardi was terminated after a 1-6 start in 2015. Maybe he can find better results after learning from those mistakes; potentially working with Justin Herbert or Russell Wilson has to be enticing.

If he is hired away, Lombardi would be the third Saints assistant to leave Sean Payton’s staff this offseason. Tight ends coach Dan Campbell (also the Saints assistant head coach) hinted at what he learned from Payton in his first press conference as Detroit Lions head coach, and he took up-and-coming secondary coach Aaron Glenn with him as Lions defensive coordinator.

The Saints were able to retain talented defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen despite strong interest from the LSU Tigers, and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen is back after the Philadelphia Eagles hired a different candidate for their head coaching vacancy. New Orleans is going to look very different in 2021 no matter what happens next, but it would be good to maintain as much consistency as possible.

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Dan Campbell admits his press conference was ‘more violent than I thought’

Campbell was a guest on Good Morning Football on the NFL Network

New Lions coach Dan Campbell is a national phenomenon after his wild, epic introductory press conference on Thursday. His comments about “biting off kneecaps” and unapologetic enthusiasm made the national news and the late-night talk show circuit, two things that are foreign turf for the Detroit Lions.

In an interview on Friday morning with “Good Morning Football” on the NFL Network, Campbell admitted his opening statement and presentation were a little over the top.

“Let me say this, I didn’t realize I had taken that many body parts,” a smiling Campbell said to ex-Lions WR Nate Burleson and the rest of the hosts after watching himself from a day earlier. “That was a lot more violent than I thought it was yesterday. But look, I am who I am.”

He then offered a poignant perspective on how what his old team, the Saints, did for the city and the people of New Orleans and how he sees parallels with that for Detroit. He reflected upon his time in Detroit as a player,

“(Detroit) is just dying for a winner. They’re just dying for it. And if you can just give them one, they’ll love you forever and it will unite a community.”

It’s a worthwhile watch to get a feel for Campbell and his message, which GMFB gratefully included in a tweet,

Grading every NFL coaching hire, from the Jets (really) to, uh, Dan Campbell

The Jets and Falcons did great. Jaguars took a home run swing. The rest? Well let’s just see what happens.

We’re a few weeks away from the Super Bowl, which means that across the league new coaches are settling in and hiring staffs.

Six of the seven vacancies in the NFL have been filled — we’re still waiting on the Houston Texans, and who knows how long it will take to clean up that mess — so we thought we’d take a shot at evaluating the pairings so far.

It’s never easy to hire a coach, and predicting which ones will succeed is generally futile. Nevertheless, here are our 100 percent correct reactions to the hirings with grades that are certified to stand the test of time and prove to be an accurate reading of the situation.

Let’s kick things off, surprisingly, in Florham Park, New Jersey.

Sean Payton’s influence an undercurrent in Dan Campbell’s first Lions presser

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton taught Dan Campbell what ideas made his offense elite, and now Campbell is teaching the Detroit Lions.

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It didn’t take Dan Campbell long to step out of Sean Payton’s shadow. The former New Orleans Saints tight ends coach reveled in his first press conference as head coach of the Detroit Lions, sending shockwaves throughout social media for his enthusiastic tough-guy act. But too many observers hooked onto the wrong cues, like his spiel on biting opponents’ knee caps and punching them in the face.

That was all for show; Campbell admitted as much, noting that the reporters covering the team have heard it all before and that it’s really more to help him connect with his players and set the tone with potential free agents, few of whom have even met him before. The really interesting information popped up whenever Campbell took a second to breathe and discuss the X’s and O’s of football.

And that’s where we saw what he’s learned from Payton the last few years. Campbell stressed a need to put his best players in positions to use their best skills. One of the first names he discussed was D’Andre Swift, Detroit’s 35th overall draft pick in 2020 who the last Lions staff played behind a declining Adrian Peterson.

Campbell likened Swift to Alvin Kamara, saying of his vision for a play-caller: “I want a coordinator who knows how to get Swift in space, use him in the slot,” getting his dynamic running back matched up with linebackers in coverage. Swift averaged 1.58 yards per routes run last year, good for fifth-best in the league among running backs with 50 or more targets (per Pro Football Focus), but he only lined up in the slot 11 times all season, and just once in the Lions’ final four games. Having seen the damage Kamara can do firsthand (a league-leading 2.19 yards per routes run in 2020), Campbell is smart to see an area the Lions can improve quickly.

And that isn’t something he came up with on the fly for his introduction to Lions faithful. That versatility is vital to creating mismatches against defenders, which is one of Payton’s core philosophies on offense. Campbell illustrated the idea to the Athletic’s Jeff Duncan: “We’re just trying to get Mike Thomas on your worst guy. We’re trying to get Alvin Kamara on one of your linebackers. We’re trying to get Jared Cook on your freakin’ donkey, and we’ll see if you can cover him. That’s what we do.”

The strategy has worked for decades in New Orleans, and now Campbell wants to import it to Detroit. The Lions have a great quarterback in Matthew Stafford, but his supporting cast is nothing to sleep on. Wide receiver Kenny Golladay had a down year because of injuries but still managed to average 16.9 yards per catch. Tight end T.J. Hockenson was voted into the Pro Bowl after catching 67 passes for 723 yards. There’s plenty of pass-catching talent for Campbell to work with, and he’s clearly eager to maximize it.

So don’t get distracted by the buzz words, coach-speak, and flashbacks to his Oklahoma drills as Miami Dolphins interim coach. There’s more at work here than you’ll see in a blurb on Twitter, and it shouldn’t shock anyone if Campbell ends up saying the dumb things while doing the smart things. Maybe he’ll become the first branch of Payton’s coaching tree to really come into bloom.

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Report: Detroit Lions interviewed Steelers WR coach Ike Hilliard for OC position

MMQB’s Albert Breer is reporting that the Detroit Lions have interviewed Pittsburgh Steelers’ wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard for their offensive coordinator position.

MMQB’s Albert Breer is reporting that the Detroit Lions have interviewed Pittsburgh Steelers’ wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard for their offensive coordinator position.

Hilliard was drafted 7th overall in the 1997 NFL draft by the New York Giants and played with them the first eight of his 12 years in the league — his other four seasons were with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2005-08).

Hilliard’s playing days in New York would overlap with Lions coach Dan Campbell (1999-2002), and the two would once again team up during the 2011 season, this time as coaches with the Miami Dolphins.

Miami offered Hilliard his first NFL coaching opportunity as an assistant wide receiver coach and after one season Washington came calling and offered him a wide receiver coaching position in 2012. In 2013, Hilliard moved on to the Buffalo Bills as their wide receiver’s coach for a year, then went back to Washington for the 2014-19 seasons. In 2020, he became the Steelers wide receivers coach, where he remains today.

Hillard’s work with Washington 2019 rookie Terry McLaurin and Steelers 2020 rookie Chase Claypool has garnered well-deserved attention. He is also recognized for helping JuJu Smith-Schuster bounce back from a 2019 injury-plagued season — he is a potential free agent this offseason — as well as helping James Washington and Diontae Johnson improve their overall game.

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2021 NFL coaching change tracker

Fantasy-ranked depth charts for NFL teams

Note: Red font denotes a new coaching hire.

Team
Exp
 Head Coach
Exp
 Offensive Coordinator
Exp
 Defensive Coordinator
Arizona Cardinals
2
 Kliff Kingsbury
2
 Kingsbury calls plays
2
 Vance Joseph
Atlanta Falcons
0
 Arthur Smith (TEN OC)
0
 Smith calls plays
0
Baltimore Ravens
13
 John Harbaugh
2
 Greg Roman
3
 Don Martingale
Buffalo Bills
4
 Sean McDermott
3
 Brian Daboll
3
 Leslie Frazier
Carolina Panthers
1
 Matt Rhule
1
 Joe Brady
1
 Phil Snow
Chicago Bears
3
 Matt Nagy
1
 Bill Lazor
0
Cincinnati Bengals
2
 Zac Taylor
2
 Taylor calls plays
2
 Lou Anarumo
Cleveland Browns
1
 Kevin Stefanski
1
 Alex Van Pelt
1
 Joe Woods
Dallas Cowboys
1
 Mike McCarthy
2
 Kellen Moore
0
 Dan Quinn (ATL HC)
Denver Broncos
2
 Vic Fangio
1
 Pat Shurmur
2
 Ed Donatell
Detroit Lions
0
 Dan Campbell (NO TE)
0
0
 Aaron Glenn (NO DB)
Green Bay Packers
2
 Matt LaFleur
2
 Nathaniel Hackett
3
 Mike Pettine
Houston Texans
0
0
0
Indianapolis Colts
3
 Frank Reich
3
 Nick Sirianni
3
 Matt Eberflus
Jacksonville Jaguars
0
 Urban Meyer (OSU HC)
0
0
 Joe Cullen (BAL DL)
Kansas City Chiefs
8
 Andy Reid
3
 Eric Bieniemy
2
 Steve Spagnuolo
Los Angeles Chargers
0
 Brandon Staley (LAR DC)
0
0
Los Angeles Rams
4
 Sean McVay
1
 Kevin O’Connell
0
 Raheem Morris (ATL DC)
Las Vegas Raiders
3
 Jon Gruden
3
 Greg Olson
3
 Paul Guenther
Miami Dolphins
2
 Brian Flores
0
2
 Josh Boyer
Minnesota Vikings
7
 Mike Zimmer
1
 Gary Kubiak
1
 Adam Zimmer
New England Patriots
21
 Bill Belichick
9
 Josh Daniels
2
 Steve Belichick
New Orleans Saints
15
 Sean Payton
12
 Pete Carmichael
6
 Dennis Allen
New York Giants
1
 Joe Judge
1
 Jason Garrett
1
 Patrick Graham
New York Jets
0
 Robert Saleh (SF DC)
0
 Mile LaFleur (SF OC)
0
 Jeff Ulbrich (ATL LB)
Philadelphia Eagles
0
 Nick Sirianni (IND OC)
0
0
Pittsburgh Steelers
14
 Mike Tomlin
0
 Matt Canada (QB coach)
5
 Keith Butler
Seattle Seahawks
11
 Pete Carroll
0
3
 Ken Norton
San Francisco 49ers
4
 Kyle Shanahan
0
  Mike McDaniel (Run coord.)
0
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2
 Bruce Arians
2
 Byron Leftwich
2
 Todd Bowles
Tennessee Titans
3
 Mike Vrabel
2
 Arthur Smith
1
 None stated
Washington Football Team
1
 Ron Rivera
1
 Scott Turner
1
 Jack Del Rio

 

Report: The Detroit Lions have hired Saints DB Aaron Glenn as their DC

ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that the Detroit Lions have hired New Orleans Saints defensive backs coach Aaron Glenn as their defensive coordinator.

During his introductory press conference, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell joked he was leaving the presser, taking off his jacket and tie, and was going to go hire some coaches. Well, apparently, he wasn’t joking.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that the Detroit Lions have hired Aaron Glenn as their next defensive coordinator.

Over the weekend it was reported that Glenn, the former New Orleans Saints defensive backs coach, was the front runner for the Lions’ defensive coordinator position. There was some speculation about him entertaining other offers, and per ESPN’s Josiah Anderson, Glenn was in the running for the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator positions.

He turned them down in favor of the Lions’ job.

Glenn and Campbell have worked together the last five seasons in New Orleans but their relationship dates back further than that. Both are graduates of Texas A&M, though Glenn was a few years ahead of Campbell. Both played together in Dallas in 2006, when Bill Parcells was the coach. And both lean on Parcells as a mentor and stem from his coaching tree.

In New Orleans, the defense ran a 43 base concept and leaned heavily on Cover-1 and 2-Man concepts — the most 2-man in the NFL per ESPN’s Matt Bowen — with some Cover-2, Cover-3, and Quarters zone concepts worked in as well.

These coverage schemes were executed by the players in Glenn’s secondary and could be a strong indicator of the style of defense he could prefer to run in Detroit.

Here’s an example of the Saints’ 2-man coverage scheme:

As a former player, Glenn commands the respect of the players he has coached, and his tenacity to learn keeps him on the cutting edge of defensive innovations.

This is a terrific first hire for Campbell and the Lions.

Dan Campbell promises Lions will ‘bite the kneecap’ off opponents in wild introductory press conference

Ok then.

You can’t say Dan Campbell isn’t excited about his new job.

The Detroit Lions coach said he wouldn’t bore the media with false promises or cliched coach-speak during his introductory press conference on Thursday.

Campbell certainly delivered. Already touted by ESPN reporter Michael Rothstein as heading “toward one of the best introductory press conferences in history,” the presser, which was over an hour long, had all sorts of wild moments. At one point, it felt like he was delivering play by play for a boxing match.

“We’re going to kick you in the teeth, all right?” Campbell told reporters. “And when you punch us back, we’re going to smile at you. And when you knock us down, we’re going to get back up and on the way up, we’re going to bite a kneecap off, all right? And then it’s going to take us two more shots to knock us down. And on the way up, we’re going to take your other kneecap. … Before long, we’re going to be the last one standing.”

Though Campbell’s comments are a little more epic– and gory — than we’re accustomed to hearing, they are pretty much on brand for the coach speak he promised he wouldn’t deploy. But unlike ex-Lions coach Matt Patricia, Campbell’s relationships with the media seems to be off to a nice start.

And that’s a good thing considering his experience isn’t necessarily on par with the other candidates who were in the mix for the job. Campbell was the Dolphins’ tight end coach from 2011 to 2015 before moving into the interim head coaching role in 2015. He then joined the Saints in 2016, where he was the assistant to the head coach and tight ends coach. The Lions missed out on two of the top candidates, Robert Saleh (who went to the Jets) and Arthur Smith (who went to the Falcons). But Eric Bieniemy, the Chiefs offensive coordinator who interviewed with Detroit, was still available.

Campbell’s bloody, violent jargon isn’t exactly what I’d call impressive — nor do I think it’s actually the sort of coaching that will prove effective in helping the pro athletes employed by the Lions to go out and beat the equally motivated and tough pro athletes of other teams.

But I guess if his act creates some buzz with media and fans, and eventually it motivates his players to work hard and buy into systems put in place by Campbell’s coordinators, then it might be fine.

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The reactions to the epic Dan Campbell intro press conference are amazing

Campbell inspired great passion with his intense introductory press conference

The Dan Campbell introductory press conference is going to go down in history as one of the most epic coaching intros in NFL history. Campbell offered a passionate 20-minute opening statement, followed by another 45 minutes of wildly enthusiastic answers that often veered far from the questions being asked.

It was not your father’s press conference. It was most certainly not Matt Patricia’s press conference, or really like any we’ve seen before. There were honest tears of emotion. There was casual profanity. There was poignancy. There was very specific Xs and Os breakdowns. There was 100 percent honesty and free-flowing of thought from Campbell, the new Detroit Lions head coach.

And fans LOVED it. The Twitter reaction had folks ready to suit up and run through walls for Campbell.

 

Watch: Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell comes out firing

Dan Campbell is bringing a new attitude to the Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions have a new head coach in Dan Campbell. At his introductory press conference, the former New Orleans Saints assistant said he is ready to bring a spark that has been missing from the Motor City team.

NSFW language:

Campbell also showed a sense of humor as to how he landed the job.