Source: 'Classy' Cowboys Ex Will Be Lions Coach
FRISCO - We reported a week ago that Dan Campbell would be the Detroit Lions' next head coach, and our original source confirmed that this weekend - along with an additional note about the "classy'' transition to Detroit for the former Dallas Cowboys tight end.
Campbell's departure from the staff of the New Orleans Saints eliminated from the NFL postseason on Sunday) will be delayed until Wednesday, Ian Rapoport notes, because he wants to do exit interviews with his current players first.
Campbell, 44, will replace Matt Patricia, who was fired in November after less than three seasons with the franchise and a 13-29-1 record. He will also try to invigorate a program that lacks a successful history. Detroit has finished last in the NFC North the past three years.
Campbell, a former Texas A&M star, is a run-through-the-wall-for-him style of coach. He has never been a coordinator in the NFL, though he was an interim head coach in Miami for a time in 2015, when he went 5-7.
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His resume includes a stint as a Cowboys tight end from 2003-05 but maybe most of all mentorship from his five seasons under coach Sean Payton in New Orleans. Part of his appeal in Detroit, a source tells CowboysSI.com, is a likemindedness with Chris Spielman, the former Lions linebacker who served as a key advisor to team ownership in its search.
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