Dan Campbell: Sheila Hamp Is 'Frustrated'

Dan Campbell reveals how conversations have gone with the Detroit Lions owner.

In the second year of the Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell era, the Detroit Lions have a disappointing 1-4 record.

Campbell has expressed his displeasure with the team’s start, and is taking accountability for the mishaps that have caused Detroit to falter late in games.

During the team’s bye week, the head coach had conversations with team owner Sheila Hamp. Campbell recounted their conversation during his meeting with reporters Wednesday.

“I just, I told her everything that I saw,” Campbell said. “Things that we needed to be better at offensively, defensively, special teams, myself and moving forward practice. So, really everything, everything that I’ve looked at our team and felt like we needed to be better at. I shared all of those thoughts with her and where we were going moving forward. That was it. So, she’s been informed.”

When asked about the owner’s level of concern regarding the state of the team, Detroit’s second-year head coach said Hamp was “frustrated.”

“I would say she’s, yeah, I would say she understands, she’s very supportive, but she’s frustrated,” Campbell said. “And, she should be. We all believe we should be better than where we’re at. But, I do know that she’s all in, and I know that she believes in what Brad and I are doing. And so, yeah, that’s pretty much it.”

In two years with Holmes as the general manager and Campbell calling shots from the sideline, the Lions are 4-17-1, heading into their Week 7 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys.

Campbell said he’s pleased with his team’s continued buy-in and commitment to staying the course through the early season struggles.

“I think that in some regards, they understand the hard times and what we have to do to get through them and stay the course,” Campbell said. “Go back to work and, there again, I said it last week, but we’ve got to be better today than Dallas is today. That’s really where it starts, everything, the urgency, the focus, the intensity, that’s where we have to really win is during the week. That’s why I mentioned that we’re gonna get back to some of the things we were doing in camp, because those things have been good for us. But, the team’s good, the guys are back, the energy’s good. We just finished our walkthrough, and our guys are in it.”

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Notes

1.) Campbell gave updates on running back D’Andre Swift and wide receiver DJ Chark Wednesday, as both were given time to heal during Detroit’s bye week.

“I would just say that they’re both a little bit better, and that’s about as good as I can give you right now,” he said. “There again, we’ll see. I see Swift doing some practicing (Wednesday). I don’t see Chark practicing (Wednesday).”

The head coach elaborated further on worries about Chark, given that he’s already had ankle surgery (in 2021).

“There again, we’re looking into everything,” Campbell said. “I don’t know if it’s, we certainly don’t want anything to rear its head again. But, I think it’s like anything else. It’s something that’s bothering him, and we just got to get him to where he feels right, back to where it needs to be.”

Campbell explained that the injury is more than pain tolerance and they're “getting some things looked at,” when it comes to the ankle.

2.) Defensive end Charles Harris also will miss practice Wednesday. 

3.) The plan remains for Jameson Williams to debut in the NFL this season, but the amount of injuries the team has suffered will not impact the coaching staff's decision to speed up his recovery. The team is still taking the same approach with his process. 

Campbell indicated that Williams has made significant strides in the last 30 days.