Mike Valenti: Amateurish Coaching Could Get Dan Campbell Fired
Dan Campbell has drawn plenty of criticism for his efforts managing the clock as head coach of the Detroit Lions.
The Lions have had trouble closing games since Campbell took over as head coach, ahead of the 2021 season. Most recently, his team kicked a field goal with 0:23 left, to tie the game against the Buffalo Bills. Yet, the time left was just enough for the Bills to drive down and kick the game-winning field goal.
As the late-game mistakes continue to cost the Lions, which have suffered five losses by one score, concerns persist about whether Campbell can correctly navigate late-game situations in key moments.
Mike Valenti, co-host of the "Valenti Show With Rico" on 97.1 The Ticket, said the tumultuous endings that have plagued Detroit could hurt Campbell’s chances of continuing to be the team’s head coach.
“I have an issue that I never feel like we have a high-level professional coaching this team,” Valenti said. “It always feels like a level of amateurism.”
In response to a caller during the show, the popular sports radio host discussed his issues with the second-year coach’s decision-making.
“I’ll just tell you, the guy does not run a high-level football game,” Valenti said. “And, no matter how hard they play for him, no matter how much they like him, eventually if that piece doesn’t fall into place, he’s gonna get himself fired.”
The host specifically cited Campbell’s on-air comments about the team’s decision to score fast late in the first half against the Bills, which allowed the opponent to get the ball back with enough time to drive and take the lead going into halftime.
“The whole thought process was let’s score as fast as we can here above the two-minute, because they had plenty of timeouts to do whatever they needed to do to go down (the field) if they were going to score,” Campbell told the "Stoney and Jansen" show during his weekly appearance Tuesday morning. “They really had control of the game at that point. So, to us, it was like, if we score now and get a stop, we’ll get this ball back and be able to add some more points to it. We were trying to gain another possession before halftime against that opponent.”
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Valenti and his co-host Rico Beard were unimpressed, and explained their qualms with the decisions.
“That’s not even how you run the end of a half,” Valenti said. “You don’t allow the opponent an extra 50 seconds when Josh Allen, I don’t care if Josh Allen is compromised or not, because you don’t know the rules.”
“You know what’s better than going for a two-for-one scoring? You score once, and you don’t give them the opportunity to score,” Beard added.
Valenti did praise Campbell for his abilities as a leader. Speaking as a pundit of the team, the host described the juxtaposition of his abilities as a leader and inabilities as a game-manager.
“It’s both things,” said Valenti. “They’re not in the game without Campbell, because they do play for him. On that end, I go, ‘Okay, this is the guy.’ But, we always end up back here. It’s the abusive, emotional relationship. You end up in the same place.”
