Dan Campbell: 'I Give Myself a Freaking F'

Dan Campbell evaluates his performance in 2025.

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell during the first half against the Dallas Cowboys | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

On Monday afternoon, head coach Dan Campbell spoke to local reporters to recap the Detroit Lions 2025 season.

After a 15-2 record and the top seed in the NFC last year, expectations were sky high for the Lions. They fell short and underachieved, with injuries, play-calling, and underperformance resulting in the team missing the playoffs and a fourth-place finish in the NFC North.

Campbell was asked for his own evaluation of how he performed this season, and the fifth-year head coach did not mince words.

The Lions’ head man gave himself an “F” for the end result of the team missing out on the postseason.

“Not good enough,” Campbell expressed, when summarized the 2025 season. “We didn’t get in (to the playoffs). We underachieved. So, not good. I give myself a freaking F.”

One of the main issues that plagued Detroit, especially early in the season, was offensive coordinator John Morton having predictable play calls, with screens being sniffed out early, and any player not named Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Sam LaPorta being underutilized in the Lions’ offense.

Detroit's fifth-year head coach took the reins of play-calling halfway through the season, and the head coach was asked if that was something that could continue in 2025.

The former NFL tight end sounded hesitant, but was willing to consider it if that was in the best interest of the team.

He did concede that a perk of that would be consistency year-over-year, which the Lions missed this season with 2024 play caller Ben Johnson heading down to Chicago as head coach.

“I’m open to anything, I don’t exactly know where I am at with that yet,” Campbell revealed. “One of the things, I guess, one of the good things if I did do that, you don’t have to worry about someone else leaving, you know? You don’t have to worry about your play-caller leaving, so that would be one of the perks of it.

"But listen, I am going to think through all of that. I want to do what I think is best for the team, that included. If I believe that is what is best for us, and I feel good about it, then I will. If I feel like ‘Ahh, I don’t know,’ I won’t do it, you know?”

One thing is certain, Campbell is not going to make any rash decisions, opting to take his time in order to make what he feels is what is best for the team he has coached since 2021.