ALLEN PARK, Mich. – It took all of one take for Dan Campbell, seasoned actor and fiery coach, to film his role in the Detroit Lions’ annual schedule release video during the offseason. In an age when creativity for these productions can reach epic proportions in the NFL universe (hello, LA Chargers), the Lions video was unique for its simplicity.
The scene essentially consisted of Campbell wheeling around to grab a sheet of paper from the printer on his desk, then walking over to tack the schedule on a cork board in the hallway near the entrance to his office.
No bells, whistles or frills. One take.
“It’s pretty old-school,” Campbell told USA TODAY Sports during a training camp interview. “Just the basics.”
And quite the metaphor underscoring a back-to-basics theme Campbell is preaching after Detroit – a projected title contender last season, following playoff meltdowns that ended the previous two efforts – tumbled to last place in the NFC North with a 9-8 finish.
Let’s face it: The Lions, who open that schedule at home Sunday against the Saints, are the NFL’s biggest tease. For all that sizzles on paper with this outfit, the dreams of being a legit contender keep getting deferred.
That’s why Campbell, 50, is trying to tighten some screws – beginning with himself.
Remember the series of commercials that featured the Lions head coach portraying a restaurant shift manager at Applebee’s? It was funny-good as Campbell wore a headset while carrying a menu that resembled the call sheet coaches roam the sidelines with.
Well, that’s history. Campbell said he gave up the national ad campaign to send a message.
“No, I didn’t do that this year,” Campbell said, sitting on a bench outside the locker room after a spirited practice. “I stepped away from all of that. Just because. I can’t ask my players to do something if I’m not going to do it. That doesn’t mean they don’t still have things going on, you’re just trying to make a little point. Like let’s not forget what got us that.
“There’s a reason why all the success happened. There’s a reason why all these good things happened. It was because of the work we put in, our competitiveness, and our attitude. That’s it. That’s all it was.”
A kick in the teeth, followed by a smack in the face
Leave it to Campbell – who once played tight end for Bill Parcells and before this gig was Sean Payton’s assistant head coach with the Saints – to find proper context. There are better play-callers and game managers, but you’d be hard-pressed to find an NFL coach who delivers a passionate message like Campbell. That’s his secret sauce.
When he arrived in Detroit in 2021, he was widely mocked when he ranted about building a tough team that would “kick you in the teeth” and “bite a kneecap off.” Well, that endeared him to the rabid fan base as one of their own, and they loved him more a little over two years later when he led the way to the franchise’s first playoff win since 1993.
What Campbell said after they collapsed in the NFC title game at San Francisco – blowing a 17-point halftime lead, with the coach going 0-for-2 on fourth-down gambles – has also resonated over time. After that gut-wrenching defeat, Campbell said he told his players: “This might have been our only shot. Do I think that? No. Do I believe that? No. However, I know how hard it is to get here. And it’s going to be twice as hard to get back to this point next year.”
How prophetic. The next year, the Lions earned the No. 1 seed in the playoffs – then were promptly bounced by the Commanders in their playoff opener. Then came last year.
“It was a smack in the face,” Lions GM Brad Holmes told USA TODAY Sports. “It left a really bad taste in our mouth.”
Tantalizing teases
A good core remains for the Lions this season. Jared Goff can still wing it to Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta. Jahmyr Gibbs is still one of the league’s most lethal multi-threat weapons – and now the NFL’s highest-paid running back. Penei Sewell anchors the O-line while Aidan Hutchinson leads the D-line. Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph form arguably the league’s best tandem of safeties – if healthy, given that both start the season on the injured list, yet to make it back from 2025 setbacks.
Holmes, who came in with Campbell in 2021, has done a masterful job of not only producing many draft hits but also in working the salary cap to retain much of the talent (with more to come) with long-term extensions.
Yet until proven otherwise, these Lions are that tantalizing tease. Underachievers. They field one of the NFL’s most explosive offenses – so fun to watch and top-five in the NFL in points and yards, four years in a row. But still.
“The margins are just so thin,” Goff told USA TODAY Sports, connecting dots that include the previous three teams. “The difference between those teams isn’t vast.
“Last year, we didn’t win the close games, which is probably the big one. We didn’t play well in the fourth quarter. Those things coupled together will lose you a bunch of games.”
What went wrong for Lions last year?
Detroit started 4-1 in 2025, then stumbled with a pattern of inconsistency as it alternated wins and losses each week for 10 consecutive weeks. As Goff alluded to, they lost five games by seven points or less. They scored just 9 points in a loss at Philadelphia, blew a 10-point, second-quarter lead at the L.A. Rams, gave up 19 straight points in a home loss against the Steelers and allowed the final 10 points in the fourth quarter at Kansas City.
“Even the Giants game, we were down two scores,” said Campbell, referring to an overtime win in November. “We got ourselves in a bind in a lot of these games. Normally, we find a way to win. Instead, we shot ourselves in the foot.”
He grumbles about the late-game mishaps against Pittsburgh in December that included a false start and illegal pick, and spins it forward to now.
“It’s like we beat ourselves in so many situations, and that’s a direct correlation to me as a coach,” he said. “That’s what that is, so that’s another emphasis here. We are not going to beat ourselves. We will not. We are going to make sure that the guys who are on the field are disciplined guys, and then we’ve got to make plays in crunch time.”
Like how, as a coach, do you instill the discipline you’re seeking?
“Number one, man, I hit this from the offseason. Immediately,” Campbell said. “The first day we were out here in OTAs. If you jump offsides, you’re out. Next guy’s up. We went ahead and hit it head-on. Normally, we’d give those guys a few days to get the snap, the cadence. We’re not doing that. That’s the standard. If we really want to be great, we’ve got to hold ourselves to that. And these captains, they want it. They don’t want to be above-average, just out here to sign autographs and do all those things. They want to win The Big One, and they want to do it with guys they love being around, who love ball.”
Well then. Reach for the stars. Go for The Big One. The Lions – one of four franchises along with the Browns, Jaguars and Texans to never reach a Super Bowl – have already routinely come up short in this regard.
Maybe this year will be different, and the Lions can bounce back and shock the world. Sure, their former QB, reigning NFL MVP Matthew Stafford, sits in the projected pole position with the Super Bowl-favorite Rams, but in the parity-laden NFL there are no sure things. And always hope about now.
The main thing
A year ago, few – if any outside the Pacific Northwest and New England – saw the Seahawks and Patriots as destined for the Super Bowl as they started the season.
That’s why Campbell is riding with the basics.
“There’s always going to be a number of circumstances that lead you to not having the success that you feel you should have had,” he said, reflecting on the recent seasons. “It’s not just one thing. It’s not just one person. It’s all of us, including me.
“But I do think some of it is that we built this thing on an attitude. This place, it was a forgotten place. It was always a loser. You were overlooked. And so, we had a chip on our shoulders. And man, the main thing was always the main thing. It was about ball and competition. So let’s get back to the no-nonsense. Let’s just center ourselves back a little bit, including me. Let’s get back to ball.”
Which surely would look good on film.
Follow Bell on X: @JarrettBell
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dan Campbell is trying to save underachieving Lions from themselves | Opinion
