Dan Campbell Has Not Made Decision on Play-Calling

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell spoke to reporters at the NFL combine.

Dan Campbell announced changes to his coaching staff, as well as a shift in philosophy, during his media session at the NFL scouting combine.

In Indianapolis for one of the top scouting evaluation periods of the NFL’s offseason, Campbell told reporters he has made two internal promotions on his coaching staff, in addition to a change in defensive thinking.

According to reports, the Lions head coach said the team will be operating with a fourth down lineman on the defensive side. In his first season, Detroit operated with three down, and shifted its EDGE rushers to stand-up outside linebackers.

Because of this, players like Romeo Okwara, Trey Flowers and Julian Okwara, among others, saw themselves playing in a new spot.

“I just think it fits our personnel better,” Campbell said during his media session at the combine. “We’ll still have elements of what we originally did last year, so I don’t want to say that this is a 100 percent wholesale change. We’ll just be a little bit heavier that way. I think with what we’ve got, you know? I think it just fits us a little bit better, if you will. It gives us more flexibility in the front.

“I think, for example, someone like Levi (Onwuzurike). As he continues to grow and develop, he can play anywhere from a three-technique to a nose to a defensive end. So, that just helps. The more versatility you have with what you’re able to do defensively, it helps you, and it helps you find players, too.”

What triggered this change in thinking is uncertain, but it may be tied to the fact that the Lions are slotted to pick at No. 2 overall in the upcoming draft. This selection all but guarantees one of the two top EDGE rushing prospects, Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux or Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson, will be available for the taking.

“I don’t think (the defensive strategy) necessarily changes. Actually, it probably makes it just a little bit easier,” Campbell said. “You know, as we went last year, we kind of had a bucket of players, where do they fit? They’re kind of their own position, if you will. But, where do they fit if we put them in our defense? And, I think there’s a much clearer place to put those guys, and there’s a lot of them. I think a lot of (defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn), and he’s constantly grinding and thinking about what’s best for us, what’s best for this unit, how do they improve, ‘Where do we go from here?’ ‘What do we need?’ So, this will be good.”

Diverse QB class

Campbell and the Lions were in charge of coaching the American squad at the 2022 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., as part of the pre-draft process. Though Duce Staley served as the acting head coach for the week itself, Campbell was able to be up close and personal with the crop of prospects from his advisory role.

Among the most polarizing group of prospects is this year’s quarterback class. The American team’s three signal-callers were Liberty’s Malik Willis, North Carolina’s Sam Howell and Western Kentucky’s Bailey Zappe.

On the other side of the Senior Bowl, the New York Jets coached the National team, and had Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett, Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder and Nevada’s Carson Strong.

Campbell was asked about the signal-callers during his media session, and gave an honest evaluation.

“They’re football players, that’s what they are,” Campbell said. “There’s a lot of guys, I think, that can do, well, they all have different skill sets. There again, we’re early in this process. So, the combine is part of it, we interviewed a couple last night. We’ll continue to interview, we’ll have some Zooms, we may bring them in on a visit. So, there’s still a lot of this left, but I know there’s guys in here that can play football.”

Coaching staff changes and roster updates

On the coaching side, the Lions have promoted Kelvin Sheppard to inside linebackers coach to replace Mark DeLeone, who was let go after one season with the organization. Additionally, Tanner Engstrand has been promoted to tight ends coach, after his predecessor Ben Johnson was promoted to offensive coordinator.

Sheppard was the team’s outside linebackers coach last season, a role that will now be filled by the combination of defensive line coach Todd Walsh and director of football research David Corrao.

Though Johnson was promoted to offensive coordinator, Campbell has yet to decide if he will call the plays in 2022. It was Campbell himself who did the play-calling down the stretch of the 2021 season, taking over in Week 10 against Pittsburgh.

“I’ll decide between now and the first game,” Campbell said.

There are plenty of roster decisions to make for Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes heading into their second offseason together. Among them is the fate of Flowers.

The Lions currently have $19.7 million in projected cap space, according to Over The Cap. Releasing Flowers could free around $10 million more.

When asked about Flowers’ future with the organization, Holmes was mum, but said there has been “open dialogue” between the team and Flowers’ representatives.

Detroit dealt with its fair share of injuries in the 2021 season, including season-ending blows to Jeff Okudah and Romeo Okwara early in the year.

Campbell said both are “right where they need to be,” and he hopes to have them available when training camp begins in the summer.