Matt Campbell turned down Lions job that went to Dan Campbell: Report

Before the Detroit Lions hired Dan Campbell as head coach, they tried to get another Campbell to take the job. According to a lengthy ESPN profile on new Penn State coach Matt Campbell , the former Iowa State coach "initially agreed" to coach the Lions in 2021 "before changing his mind," causing the team to pivot to Dan Campbell. The Lions' interest in Matt Campbell was well known and reported at the time, though the team never acknowledged how close it came to making a different hire.

Asked during the video conference to introduce Dan Campbell as coach if the Lions offered Matt Campbell the job, Lions president Rod Wood said, "I’m not going to comment on any college coaches. I think I’ve talked to a couple of you about that, out of respect for their current position and recruiting. I’m not going to say whether we interviewed a college coach or whether we didn’t or whether we extended an offer.

I’ll just leave it at, no comment on any college coaches. ” In his opening remarks a few minutes later, Dan Campbell joked about how he ended up getting the job. “I’m excited to be here beyond belief," Dan Campbell said.

"What I’m going to have to do is make sure that I contain myself, so you may get a couple things where I’m completely out of the screen because I’m moving. I’ll do my best. But I’d say this first, just in regards to the head coach search, how I ended up here, one of things would be that I told my agent, Rick Smith, I said make sure that they think I’m Matt Campbell, so I think that’s how this has really worked out great for me.