Chris Spielman

Lions Extend Dan Campbell, Brad Holmes

March 14th, 2024 at 9:28am CST by Sam Robinson

The Lions nearly turned Year 3 of their rebuilding effort into a Super Bowl LVIII berth, coming closer to reaching the NFL’s top stage than any previous Lions squad. As a result of the progress this operation has made, ownership will reinvest in the top decision-makers.

Dan Campbell and GM Brad Holmes signed extensions Thursday morning. These deals run through the 2027 season. Despite Campbell having three years remaining on the six-year contract he signed back in 2021, the Lions are rewarding the popular HC.

“We are thrilled to have Brad and Dan under contract for the next four seasons,” Lions owner Sheila Hamp said. “They have been the driving force behind the rebuild of our football team and the success that we have enjoyed. The continuity they provide for our football program will continue to be the key to our future success on the field.”

The two power brokers have come a long way since arriving in 2021. Lions ownership did not inform Holmes of Matthew Stafford‘s trade request until he began work, but after executing a deal that brought back two first-round picks, the ex-Rams exec teamed with Campbell, 47, to design what can already be classified as a wildly successful rebuild blueprint. The Lions have progressed from an 0-10-1 start in 2021 to a three-point loss in the NFC title game two years later.

Holmes and Co. took a chance on Campbell, who traveled the rare route of skipping the coordinator tier to becoming a head coach. Although Campbell served as Dolphins interim HC for most of the 2015 season, he had settled back on the position coach level. The Lions liked the Saints tight ends coach enough to offer a six-year contract to begin this climb. While Campbell’s intro presser — the kneecaps reference mostly — was panned and his credentials received scrutiny, the former NFL tight end has proven skeptics wrong.

The Lions finished with 12 wins for just the second time in franchise history, and their two playoff wins snapped a 32-year drought. While Campbell’s fourth-down decisions invited criticism late in the season — particularly in the San Francisco loss — he has gained considerable respect during his time in Detroit. With a significant boost from OC Ben Johnson, Campbell and Holmes have elevated what had been one of the NFL’s most downtrodden franchises. Campbell’s alma mater (Texas A&M) attempted to gauge his interest in taking over in College Station recently; he shot that down quickly.

Holmes, 44, certainly deserves considerable credit given the state of the Lions upon his arrival. The former Rams college scouting director positioned the Lions for this unexpected rise by bringing in the player he once helped draft in Los Angeles — Jared Goff — and then adding Penei Sewell and Amon-Ra St. Brown in his first draft. Aidan Hutchinson followed a year later, and the 2023 draft — which featured two picks in Rounds 1 and 2 thanks to the Stafford and T.J. Hockenson trades — brought promising young talent. The Jahmyr Gibbs pick brought criticism due to running back value, but the dual-threat talent played a major role in the Lions’ push to the NFC title round. So did second-rounders Sam LaPorta and Brian Branch.

Going against the conventional rebuilding route by keeping Goff at QB rather than drafting an heir apparent, Holmes has an interesting offseason ahead. The rejuvenated quarterback’s Rams-constructed contract expires after the 2024 season, as does St. Brown’s rookie deal. Extensions are on the docket. This will begin a new phase of Detroit’s project, but ownership is understandably quite pleased with the first steps and will give the two principal architects more time.

The Lions are also extending Chris Spielman, who has held a key role with the team since Holmes’ arrival. The former Pro Bowl Lions linebacker and FOX analyst works as a special assistant to the team’s president/CEO; he is believed to carry notable power within the organization, and the team is signing off on a multiyear extension.

Front Office Notes: Ballard, Elway, Raiders, Eagles, Lions

April 4th, 2023 at 9:11pm CST by Ben Levine

The Colts have three winning seasons and two playoff appearances during Chris Ballard‘s six seasons as the team’s general manager. Even in the midst of a 4-12-1 campaign that featured the firing of head coach Frank Reich, Colts owner Jim Irsay continued to endorse his top decision maker. However, fast forward a few months, and Irsay is now hinting that the Colts will have to perform better on the field if Ballard hopes to keep his job.

“Everyone has to be successful to keep their job, if you’re a general manager or head coach,” Irsay said (via Zak Keefer of The Athletic). “I really feel that he’s not on some quick, hot seat. But the expectations are there.”

As Keefer notes, Irsay has always been fond of his GM, admiring the executive’s drafting prowess and roster-building ability. The owner has also been willing to take part of the blame for the team’s recent inconsistencies, but Ballard was given full control of the recent head coaching search and will be fully responsible for making the Colts’ selection at No. 4 later this month.

In other words, if Ballard fails, it will be on him, and any struggles in 2023 could ultimately lead to the GM’s firing. As Keefer writes, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the Colts have to be a playoff contender; rather, Irsay will be looking for “hope, optimism, [or] tangible proof that Ballard can fix the mess he’s made.”

Normally, a GM with Ballard’s resume probably would have been fired a few years ago, but Irsay also indicated that the organization is still reeling from Andrew Luck‘s sudden retirement decision in 2019.

“I’m not gonna make excuses for (Chris) or anyone else, (but) you know, the Andrew Luck card’s never been seen by a general manager before,” Irsay said. “I mean, that’s a tough one, guys. I’d like to see how other teams would respond when you have a 29-year-old who was supposed to be there for the next 10 years and win two Lombardis just walks away, two weeks before the season starts. I mean, that’s a hard one, you know?”

More front office notes from around the NFL…

After spending more than a decade in the Broncos front office, John Elway is stepping away. After serving as an outside consultant to GM George Paton in 2022, Elway and the Broncos have decided to part ways. “I’ve enjoyed the relationship with the Broncos for a long, long time,’’ Elway told Mike Klis of 9News in Denver. “I told Greg I’d be happy to be a resource for him and help in any way that I can. I just wanted the flexibility. They’re in great hands. I still plan on being around to watch and be a resource for Greg or George (Paton) if I can.’’ The Hall of Fame quarterback was the Broncos general manager for 10 years before transitioning to President of Football Operations in 2021.
Raiders senior vice president and chief of staff Marcel Reece resigned last month, according to Tashan Reed and Vic Tafur of The Athletic. The former Pro Bowl running back joined the team’s front office in 2020, earning a promotion to his last role in 2022. As the writers note, Reece follows a number of long-time executives who have recently left the organization, a group that includes former team presidents Marc Badain and Dan Ventrelle.
The Eagles will be heading into the draft with a new front office structure. They’ll no longer be relying on a vice president of player personnel like former execs Andy Weidl or Joe Douglas. Instead, Eagles GM Howie Roseman is going to be completely responsible for running the show. “The responsibility is mine,” Roseman said (via Zach Berman of The Athletic). “I don’t say that in any way other than that I take that very seriously and I think we have a process that has spanned different front offices. Hasn’t always been perfect, but we do have a process and a way of doing things. At the same time, if someone comes in and has an idea that can make that process better, let’s do that. Best idea has to win. … At the end of the day, it’s my job to outline a vision of what we’re looking for, whether it’s at the All-Star games, the combine, free-agent process, the draft process. I think the lines of communication have been great. There are a lot of really great, talented guys we have in our front office, and I’m looking forward to working with them.”
Chris Spielman has spent three years in the Lions front office, officially serving as “special assistant to the owner and CEO.” Justin Rogers of The Detroit News has provided some insight into the former Pro Bowl linebacker’s role, with the executive having his hand in draft preparation, weekly opponent scouting, and helping to hire the team’s GM and head coach. “I’ve been given the freedom to define the role, but in order to do that, the one thing I had to get, because it’s a paranoid business by nature, I had to make sure I had everybody’s trust, that I have zero agenda other than winning,” Spielman told Rogers. “Zero. I tell everyone, ‘I’ve already done my thing, man. I have zero agenda. I don’t want another role. I’m not looking for another role.’ My goal is to help everybody succeed to their highest level. When that happens, I feel like I win.”

Lions Notes: GM/HC Search, Stafford, Wood

January 1st, 2021 at 6:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

Lions president Rod Wood confirmed recently hired exec Chris Spielman is involved in the team’s coaching search, and Wood — a self-proclaimed non-football guy — has helped make some football decisions during the team’s time in between GMs, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press notes. Wood did, however, describe his role as more of a suggestion box or sounding board to the team’s current front office. As far as the Lions’ HC and GM searches, the team’s president offered a vague description of how this search is unfolding differently.

“One of the things that I think we’re doing differently that didn’t occur, at least in the searches I was involved in with Bob (Quinn) and Matt (Patricia) is really identifying what we want for a Detroit Lion coach and general manager. Not what some other team may want, but what do the Detroit Lions want?” Wood said, via Birkett. “So we’ve been discussing and detailing a lot of very specific criteria that is unique to us.”

The Lions may well be seeking a scouting type for the GM role, and Albert Breer of SI.com adds Detroit’s next coach would not need to be an offensive genius to land the job. Michigan native Robert Saleh has surfaced as an early frontrunner. Here is the latest from Detroit:

The Lions have interviewed eight candidates thus far for their GM position. They are not expected to stop there. The organization expects to venture well beyond 10 interviewees for this role, Breer tweets. Thus far, the Lions have interviewed unattached and internal candidates, with Rick Smith, Scott Pioli and Louis Riddick being the biggest names involved thus far.
One of the lower-profile candidates, however, may have some momentum. Rams college scouting director Brad Holmes is expected to be interviewed, and Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal tweets Holmes is viewed as a serious candidate to succeed Quinn. Holmes has been with the Rams for 18 years. The Lions will have competition, however. The Falcons are also expected to meet with Holmes.
Regarding head coach interviews, the Lions have waited. They are not opting to take advantage of a recent NFL rule change that allowed virtual interviews with candidates, Breer tweets. The franchise will then go through the usual search process, which can begin next week.
While Matthew Stafford has been the Lions’ QB1 since arriving in 2009, he has been mentioned in trade speculation for a bit now. The next coach hired will be Stafford’s fourth full-time HC, and the next GM will be the third of Stafford’s career. Some in the Lions organization are wondering if Stafford would be willing to be part of another rebuild, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. Stafford was involved in trade rumors earlier this year, but Quinn shot down that possibility and kept the 32-year-old passer. With Stafford’s $27MM-per-year contract no longer close to the top of the QB market, teams will be interested in the cannon-armed passer — should the next Lions regime entertain offers. A few AFC teams — like the Broncos, Colts or Patriots — and the 49ers profile as teams that could be interested in the veteran.

Lions Fire ST Coordinator Brayden Coombs

December 21st, 2020 at 11:45am CST by Rory Parks

The Lions have fired special teams coordinator Brayden Coombs, per a team announcement. Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com writes that special teams assistant Marquice Williams will take over the coordinator position for the final two games of the season.

Coombs, 34, began his coaching career as an intern with the Bengals in 2009. He served as Cincinnati’s assistant special teams coach from 2012-19, and his units were generally quite successful. The 2019 Bengals special teams unit was ranked first by Football Outsiders and fifth by Pro Football Focus, which prompted Detroit to hire Coombs as its ST coordinator back in January.

But a source told Rothstein that Coombs did not mesh with the culture that the organization is trying to create. In the Lions’ loss to the Titans yesterday, Coombs called for an unsuccessful fake punt without the knowledge of anyone else, including coaches and some players on the field. While Coombs’ abilities as a coordinator are clearly strong, the team apparently felt that his unilateral decision was emblematic of his overall approach. As Rothstein says, the team had been considering making a move for some time, and the fake punt was simply the last straw.

In related news, the Lions recently hired Chris Spielman to serve as a special assistant to chairman and president & CEO. Spielman, a franchise icon who played linebacker for the Lions from 1988-95, will be a key voice in the general manager and head coach hires that Detroit will soon be making, and he spoke at length about the vision that principal owner Sheila Ford Hamp has in terms of the club’s direction and culture.

As Justin Rogers of the Detroit News observes, Spielman — the brother of Vikings GM Rick Spielman — and team president Rod Wood used the word “culture” 22 times in 36 minutes at Spielman’s introductory press conference last week. Organizational sources tell Rogers that Coombs’ departure is a reflection of his “me-first” attitude that undermines that culture (Twitter links).

The Lions’ GM search is well underway, with the club having interviewed or planning to interview several internal options and a host of high-profile candidates like Louis Riddick, Thomas Dimitroff, and Scott Pioli. The team’s head coaching interviews will obviously start in earnest at season’s end, and 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is rumored to be Detroit’s top choice.