Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell.
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Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell is beloved in the city, but if he doesn't turn things around, he may be in the hot seat.
The NFL is an unforgiving place to be, especially when a franchise isn’t doing well, and even though the Detroit Lions are better than they were years ago, the team ended the 2026-27 season at the very bottom of the NFC North, according to ESPN research, and with no chance at the postseason. So, is head coach Dan Campbell in the hot seat going into next season?
It’s a complicated question, because Campbell is already a beloved part of Detroit, the full city, not just the Lions. But, if the team tanks during the 2026-27 season, there’s the belief that Campbell may be on thin ice. Of course, general manager Brad Holmes may be in the hot seat, too, because he’s the one making draft picks, free agency moves and trades.
So, heading into the new season, we’re looking back at statements that the powers at be have made about Campbell, Holmes and their security with the team. It helps shed light on whether these two are in the hot seat.
Detroit Lions Are Taking a ‘Long, Hard Look’ at the 2025-26 Season
After the Lions ended their season in January at the bottom of the NFC North, just one year after being at the top, Detroit Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp sent out a message to the team’s season ticket holders stating “that our results on the field this season were not what any of us envisioned and frankly, were not good enough.”
“While we do not believe it is a time for drastic change, this is an opportunity for us to refocus, evolve, and move forward,” Hamp stated, though. That implies that Campbell and Homes are here to stay.
She added that she’s proud of what Campbell and Holmes have done over the past three seasons, but “it also does not guarantee future success. It is incumbent upon us to continue growing toward our ultimate goal of bringing a championship to all of you and the city of Detroit.”
At his end-of-the-season presser in January, Homes echoed that, stating that the team is taking a “long, hard look” at where they’re at and that he’s “already started to identify some things that I can definitely do better.”
Detroit Lions Owner Said in 2022 That She Would ‘Never Meddle’ with Brad Holmes or Dan Campbell
Back in 2022, Hamp had an interview with Lions in-house reporter Dannie Rogers and said that, at the time, she was happy with the direction of the team and the hires of Holmes and Campbell. At the time, it was a total franchise rebuild, and she said that while “sticking to the plan is often hard,” it was the right thing to do.
She also said that she wouldn’t ever interfere or intervene in with Holmes or Campbell. “I see my role evolving and changing in that I think we’ve got a great coach,” Hamp stated. “I think we’ve got a terrific general manager. I want to know and be involved with them and their thinking and seeing how they work, and then you let them do their work. But I have every confidence in them, and I would never meddle. You’ve set a vision.”
So, over the years, Hamp has stayed confident about the Detroit Lions’ management, and it would take a lot to shake that. But, if the team has a losing season in 2026-27, that confidence may start to fade. Reach out to this reporter and give your thoughts.