If Steve Yzerman and Warde Manuel taught us anything recently, it’s that the seats of sports executives can go from cold to scorching hot in a matter of days.
It’s too early to say general manager Brad Holmes and coach Dan Campbell’s seats are warm when the Lions kick off training camp next week. But they aren’t ice cold, either. And if the team struggles out of the gate, no one should be surprised by how quickly their seats will start to heat up.
I’m not saying either man is going to get fired this season. In fact, I can hardly imagine any scenario in which that would happen. Even an 0-17 season. Seriously.
A lot of their job security has to do with owner Sheila Hamp. Hiring Holmes and Campbell has been her crowning achievement and validation
that she should have been running things all along in Allen Park. So she’s not itching to fire the guys who’ve made her look so good.
Except that things aren’t looking so good right now. The Lions are regressing. They’ve gone from being four points away from their first Super Bowl appearance three seasons ago to losing their playoff opener two seasons ago to not even making the playoffs and barely finishing above .500 last season.
Holmes tacitly admitted to feeling a little heat in April, when he said missing the playoffs gave him extra resolve heading into the draft.He went as far as giving himself a physical reminder of that failure.
“When you miss the playoffs … that might be the kick in the rear that you need at times,” he said. “So that right there, I had it written up on my office wall and all that kind of stuff. Yeah, it was just, not saying I don’t have fire in other drafts or I didn’t, but it was just a little bit more.”
That’s why there’s more pressure then ever on Holmes and Campbell to make sure the Lions have an excellent camp, which can help shore up problematic areas that cost them last season.
And speaking of problematic, the first order of business at camp will be dealing with questions about cornerback Terrion Arnold.
Reporters have been waiting a month to ask Campbell why the team released its former first-round pick on June 29, just three months after he described Arnold’s legal problems as “not a big deal” and said he believed Arnold wasn’t involved in a Florida kidnapping case that now could result in a life prison sentence.
Campbell and the organization will want to put Arnold behind them quickly and quietyly, but two factors will linger. Arnold is officially a whiff and an embarrassing stain on Holmes’ draft record, and the Lions still have to make up for a player they expected to have a significant role in a banged-up secondary.
Arnold’s absence is a specter that looms over the defense. It remains the Lions’ biggest overall concern as the team still tries to turn its defense into a strength, rather than a liability.
Losing Arnold doesn’t help. Injuries to safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph don’t help. Not adding a real difference-maker at edge-rush … well, doesn’t help.
And letting linebacker, veteran, captain and locker-room leader Alex Anzalone walk in free agency might play a bigger factor than anyone expects.
As for the offense, the two big questions concern the revamped O-line (for the second straight year) and a new coordinator (for the second straight year). To say the Lions need continuity in these areas is a massive understatement.
According to Pro Football Focus, the Lions’ O-line ranked 12th last season. Not bad, considering right guard Tate Ratledge was a rookie, center Graham Glasgow was playing out of position and second-year left guard Christian Mahogany was starting for the first time before he got injured.
The unit should be in better shape this year with the arrival of free-agent center Cade Mays. Ratledge and Mahogany have more experience and it’s hard to imagine Penei Sewell not continuing his elite level of play, even as he switches to left tackle. We’ll have to see how first-round pick Blake Miller does in Sewell’s old spot.
The bigger question and concern is offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, who replaced fired OC John Morton, who replaced Ben Johnson, who is looking like he might have been irreplaceable.
After whiffing on Anthony Lynn in his first year as the Lions’ coach, Campbell is 0-for-2 on hiring OCs outside the building. Campbell has proved he can take over play-calling duties, but it would be a bad look if he whiffs again on an OC hire and sees his overall OC batting average drop to .250.
But let’s not forget this about the Lions. They’re still a good team with elite skill players on offense, plus defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and linebacker Jack Campbell. They also start the season with a favorable schedule.
So if Campbell and Holmes find the right mix of personnel and preparation in camp, no one at the end of the year should be worried about anything heating up, except playoff expectations.
Contact Carlos Monarrez at cmonarrez@freepress.com and follow him on X @cmonarrez.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Could Dan Campbell, Brad Holmes end up on hot seat? Lions camp is key
