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The Detroit Lions will hire New Orleans Saints assistant head/tight ends coach Dan Campbell as their next head coach, per FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer. The Saints can’t officially hire him until the Saints either bow out of the playoffs or win a Super Bowl. He will take over for the fired Matt Patricia and interim coach Darrell Bevell.
Campbell isn’t a name you’ve probably heard as a top candidate across the league, but he does have experience as a head coach, as he served as the interim head coach in Miami after Joe Philbin was fired early in the 2015 season. Campbell managed a 5-7 record that season, which was better than anyone could have expected.
Campbell played tight end for the Giants, Cowboys and lions, working mainly as a blocker. He was a favorite of coach Bill Parcells. He has been a coach for ten years now, as he started in 2011 as the tight ends coach in Miami and moved on to the Saints in 2016.
Campbell has now spent the last five season working as an assistant head coach to Sean Payton, which is where he will likely draw much of his head coaching and organizational knowledge.