Lions Rumors: Dan Campbell Could Bolt Detroit for New Job, Insider Says

Dan Campbell has the Detroit Lions on track for a division title and is earning Coach of the Year buzz, but one insider believes he could potentially leave Detroit for a job at his alma mater.

The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman broke down the list of candidates to replace recently fired Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, and said Campbell might be a dark horse on the list. While Feldman cast some doubt on whether Campbell would cut out on an NFL contender he helped build from the ground up, he noted that Campbell’s name is starting to circulate in connection to the job.

Dan Campbell Would Be a Big Get for Aggies

Feldman wrote that Campbell would be everything the Aggies are looking for in a head coach, especially after he helped turn the Lions from an NFC doormat into a darkhorse Super Bowl contender.

“The 47-year-old Texas native played at A&M,” Feldman wrote. “Campbell epitomizes everything we suspect the school would want in a head coach, and if you’ve watched any clips of him in front of his team, you’ll see why. He has jumped into what was an abysmal franchise and has that city thinking there’s finally a Super Bowl in its future.”

leave the Lions, and it would likely take a significant financial commitment beyond what the Lions could offer.

“Could A&M lure him home despite all that he has done and is doing in Detroit, getting all the buy-in he has gotten?” Feldman wrote. “It would seem doubtful that he’d walk away from all that. As one source said Sunday morning, ‘The timing for him (with A&M) is horrible.’ “

Timing is Right for the Lions

While the Aggies are a storied college football program in search of direction, the Lions are on a very different trajectory. Campbell has helped the team live up to the lofty expectations to start the season, as the Lions were predicted to win the division and host a playoff game for the first time in two decades.

Campbell’s praise grew even louder on Sunday, when his gutsy fourth-down call helped the Lions win a shootout with the Los Angeles Chargers. With the game tied at 38 and the Lions facing a fourth down, Campbell elected to keep the offense on the field rather than send Riley Patterson out for a 43-yard field goal.

The Lions converted the first down, running down the clock and kicking the game-winning field goal as time expired, leaving Justin Herbert and the potent Charger offense no chance to answer.