Report: Dan Campbell and Lions Agree to Contract Terms

Read more on the Lions hiring New Orleans Saints tight ends coach/assistant head man Dan Campbell to be their next head coach

It's finally official. The Detroit Lions have chosen New Orleans Saints tight ends coach and assistant head man Dan Campbell as their next head coach. 

Campbell comes to the Motor City after spending five seasons on the sidelines in New Orleans.

The #Lions and #Saints TEs coach/AHC Dan Campbell have agreed to terms on a contract to make him Detroit’s new head coach, source said. What was expected is now official.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 20, 2021

The Lions' deal with Dan Campbell is a 6-year contract, I'm told. https://t.co/EWifwUgUxm

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 20, 2021

During his time with the Saints (2016-20), future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees & Co. logged a regular season record of 56-24, to go along with an active streak of four straight playoff appearances. 

Campbell replaces Matt Patricia, who went 13-29-1 in three years at the helm, with zero trips to the postseason. 

He's been a head man once before, although on an interim basis.

He served as the Miami Dolphins' acting head man in 2015, after Joe Philbin was fired after a 1-3 start to the campaign. 

© Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

The now 44-year-old proceeded to go 5-7 in his 12-game stint in Miami. 

In earning the Detroit job, he beat out former Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis, ex-Lions interim head man Darrell Bevell and Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. 

Campbell, who began his time as an NFL assistant in 2010 as an intern with the Dolphins, has never served as a play-caller during his coaching career. 

So, who the former Lions tight end hires to be his offensive and defensive coordinators will be of utmost importance.

Present ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky, who played with Campbell in Detroit from 2006-08, believes that the new Lions head coach will assemble a high-quality group of assistants. 

"I just think he’s going to be able to put together a great staff," Orlovsky told the "Pat McAfee Show" Friday. "That's something that I’ve really leaned into over the past couple months, because we get really enamored with head coaching hires -- as we should. They’re important, but the staff that the guy brings with him is as important, if not more. And I think that his connections and the people he knows within the league is going to give him a really good opportunity to put together a big-time staff." 

New Detroit general manager Brad Holmes explained during his introductory press conference Tuesday how important it will be to have a close relationship with the Lions' next head coach.

"So, me and the head coach, we have to be -- I’m sure you’ve heard, aligned at the hip, in lockstep," Holmes said. "But, I truly think (being as) tight as family is very important, because there might be times where you might not see eye-to-eye. But, when you’re (as) tight as family, you can work through those things and come to a winning solution.”

Keep it here at SI All Lions for all the latest news regarding who is hired to fill out Campbell's coaching staff.