There were legitimate reasons to be worried when the Detroit Lions lost coordinators Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson before the 2025 NFL season. As great a motivator and culture-builder as head coach Dan Campbell is, decision-making hasn't always been his strong suit, meaning he needed to hire replacements who could confidently fill Glenn and Johnson's void.
It didn't take long for alarm bells to ring in the Motor City as the Lions' offense struggled to start the season, forcing Campbell to take play-calling duties away from OC John Morton earlier this month. Although Detroit initially responded well to the change with a 44-point effort against the Washington Commanders in Week 10, the results haven't been great since then, highlighted by Thursday's loss to the rival Green Bay Packers.
Campbell called a solid game against the Packers, especially after losing star wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown to an early injury; however, his time management was lacking. Whether it was his failure to call a timeout to combat Romeo Doubs' second-quarter touchdown or the fact that Detroit called the same number of plays as Green Bay (60) despite having the ball for three minutes, it's clear that the Lions' HC may have bitten off more than he can chew.
Week 13 Proved Lions HC Dan Campbell Has Too Many Responsibilities
There's no denying that the Lions' offense regressed under Morton. His play-calling was predictable and lacked the trickery and deception of the Ben Johnson era, so not many fans complained when Campbell took over those duties. Things looked better on paper, but clock management has now become an issue.
Campbell chose to go for it on fourth down deep into Packers territory twice on Thursday. He didn't get the points down 10 with almost 11 minutes left to play in the fourth quarter. He's going to live and die by that aggressiveness, and while his players may love him for that and for all the trust he puts in them, that's just not intelligent; it's not winning football.
The Lions have one of the most stacked offenses in the game. Even without Sam LaPorta and St. Brown, they still had more than enough to trick the Packers' stout defense. Instead, Campbell continued to insist on using Jahmyr Gibbs on inside zone runs, even though he's clearly better suited to run outside. He could've used David Montgomery in those settings, and maybe he would have if he wasn't busy with everything else on his plate.
There's a reason why head coaches delegate. This is one of the most demanding and taxing jobs out there, and a person can only do so much. It's not a matter of whether he's a good coach or if he has his guys ready to play; it's just that he can't do it all. Campbell might be among the NFL's best CEO-like coaches, but there comes a point where there's even too much for him to manage.
The offensive coordinator should be in charge of personnel, play-calling, and clock management. Campbell calls the game as if he were still playing or as if he were playing a video game, and while that's definitely more entertaining to watch, it has come back to hurt the Lions more often than not.
Campbell has been there long enough to realize that he needs to learn how to pick his spots. He can't go at full steam on every single play, and he doesn't always have to go for it on fourth down, especially facing a divisional rival in a must-win game. Otherwise, the Lions' campaign will surely culminate in a frustrating finish.