If you only look at the Detroit Lions record (2-13-1), you would probably assume that it has been a failure of a season for first-year head coach, Dan Campbell.
But if you look deeper, you realize that Campbell is already making a difference for a franchise that has been the laughing stock of the NFL for a very long time.
Has Campbell been perfect? Of course not. In fact, he has made a plethora of questionable decisions, especially since taking over as the Lions' play-caller.
That being said, he has been growing as a head coach and on Tuesday, he spoke about that to the media.
“Shoot, man, I would just think the things here, as it pertains to organizing the schedules, scheduling, practice schedules, daily schedules. I think in-game management I’ve gotten a wealth of experience. And, it’s one thing to get as a head coach, but then just as a play-caller, I felt like I’ve gotten so much more comfortable with calling an offense, but also still managing the game,” he said. “That was an area I felt like four or five weeks ago that was a big learning curve. But, I felt like everything has started to begin to slow down now, as far as that goes.”
Campbell added, “My confidence is a lot better. I just feel like I see things a lot more clearer. Look, just from my own time management, doing what I do has improved. Nobody is really going to see that, but just having a handle on obviously our offense as I call it, but then defense, special teams throughout the week, and catching up on the film and making sure I’m on top of the opponent, the totality of what they are. I think those things I feel like I’ve grown a lot.”
Nation, if you were to evaluate Campbell on his first season as Lions' head coach, how would you rate him?