Dan Campbell: Patience by Lions ownership ‘only goes so long’ when you’re losing
Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell was appreciative of the vote of confidence owner Sheila Hamp gave him amidst the team’s 1-5 start this week, but Campbell said Hamp’s comments do not change the urgency of his situation.
“I mean, look I’m not blind to any of this,” Campbell said Friday. “I appreciate that and I know, but I also know the reality. I mean, we got to win. I mean there’s still urgency here. I mean that’s not – that’s never changed. I mean, we know what kind of business we’re in. I know what kind of business I’m in and I know that the patience only goes so long.”
Hamp held an impromptu 4-minute meeting with reporters Wednesday to show support for Campbell, general manager Brad Holmes and their staffs in Year 2 of their rebuild.
The Lions went 3-13-1 last season and are an NFL-worst 1-5 this year entering Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins.
They have the worst defense in the NFL, an offense that has not scored a touchdown in eight quarters, and Campbell has made crucial mistakes managing games.
“I know this is difficult,” Hamp told reporters. “A rebuild is hard. But we really believe in our process, we really believe in we’re going to turn this thing around the right way, through the draft. It requires patience, it’s frustrating. Am I frustrated? Absolutely. Are the fans frustrated? Absolutely. Are you guys frustrated? But I think we really are making progress.”
Hamp declined to say if Campbell and Holmes would return for 2023 no matter how this season finishes, but she insisted, “I believe in the leadership,” and touted “the process we went through in the first place when we hired Brad and Dan.”
Asked about those comments Friday, in his first availability since Hamp met with reporters, Campbell said he “appreciated it.”
“But I also, I know that – she’s told me that’s how she feels, so I’m not surprised by it, either,” he said. “But I appreciate it, she didn’t have to do that. So certainly, I appreciate that and I know that – I know that we have her support. But I don’t take that for granted, I don’t take it lightly, either. I know that that’s not easy. It’s not easy at all. It’s not easy on anybody. But certainly, I do, I appreciate it.”
At 4-18-1, Campbell is off to the worst 23game start by a Lions coach since Jim Schwartz went 4-19 in 2009-10. The Lions went 2-14 in Schwartz’s first season, improved to 7-9 in Year 2 and made the playoffs in his third year.
“We’re trying to get one this week and then after that takes place, then you go get the next one,” Campbell said. “But I mean, it’s all about winning. I mean, we’re not – we’re not trying to kick the can down the road. We’re not trying to say any of that. I mean, we’ve got a team here that I know can win and it’s my job to get them there.”
Swift likely to return Sunday
D’Andre Swift’s sprained shoulder is feeling better and the Detroit Lions running back is scheduled to return Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.
Swift was a full participant in practice Friday and was not given a designation on the Lions’ injury report, meaning he is cleared to play. He has not played since injuring his shoulder in a Week 3 loss to the Minnnesota Vikings. He also has been managing a sprained ankle he suffered in a Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
“He is trending in the right direction there,”
Lions running backs coach Duce Staley said before practice. “Just getting him back out there on the field, getting him back into the swing of things I’ll say is important, just the little things from putting the ball away, running routes, making sure his eyes are in the right place. Just stuff we do every day with other running backs.”
Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is listed as questionable but trending towards playing Sunday after missing most of the past three games with injury, Lions coach Dan Campbell said.
St. Brown sat out a Week 4 loss to the Seattle Seahawks with a high ankle sprain, played sparingly Week 5 against the New England Patriots and was knocked out of last week’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys early. He remains in concussion protocol, but was not diagnosed with a brain injury.
The Lions had one of the highest-scoring offenses in the NFL with Swift and St. Brown healthy early this season, but that unit has fallen on tough times of late.
The Lions have managed just two field goals and have not scored a touchdown their past two games.
Campbell said getting Swift and St. Brown back should be “a big jolt” for the offense.
“I mean, those two guys can account for a lot of offense,” Campbell said. “And look, I would say this, too: (receiver Josh) Reynolds was out there practicing (Thursday), which was good, and he’s going to get another day’s work and that’s really the first time in two or three weeks we’ve had him in practice, per se. He’s really been walk-through, and then he’s gone in to (work with trainers). So I know at this point this is the best he’s felt in a while, so that helps. Those three players, to have them, certainly it’s going to help more than it hurts, I can tell you that.”
The Lions (1-5) ruled six players out for Sunday: Defensive starters DeShon Elliott (finger) and Charles Harris (groin), and backups Ifeatu Melifonwu (ankle), Chase Lucas (ankle), Mike Hughes (knee) and Matt Nelson (calf).
Left guard Jonah Jackson also is questionable with a neck injury, though he practiced on a limited basis Friday for the second straight day.
Campbell said Juju Hughes likely would start at safety in place of Elliott, who has a splint on his right index finger.
‘Slim to none’
Campbell said right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai likely will not play this season after undergoing back surgery in September. Vaitai was injured late in training camp, and the Lions have used a rotating cast of linemen − Evan Brown, Logan Stenberg and Dan Skipper − in his place.
Backup guard Tommy Kraemer, who has not played this season because of a back injury, could return “at some point here over the next few weeks possibly,” Campbell said.