Tag: dan campbell

Detroit Lions add edge rusher Marcus Davenport to help boost defense

He knew Dan Campbell while with the Saints

ALLEN PARK — Edge rusher Marcus Davenport knows Lions coach Dan Campbell from their days with the New Orleans Saints. It may be what helped to steer him in the direction of Detroit.

Davenport signed a one-year deal with the Lions this week that has a maximum value of $10.5 million with a base of $6.5 million.

He described his game as violent and physical.

“But that’s even something I want to change. I want to adapt, I want to learn. I was told recently that there’s a lot of young guys that can learn from me and my first thought was we’ve got a lot of guys I can learn from,’’ said Davenport who was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the first round in 2018 and played there for the last five seasons. Last year he signed a one-year deal with the Vikings, but his season ended when he suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 6.

Davenport recalled a story about Campbell from the Covid era when he was elevated to interim coach while coach Sean Payton was ill.

“He gave a speech. I remember it was the first time in a long time somebody gave a speech and my heart was ‘Yeah! That’s what we’re doing!’ I just remember his energy. I don’t want to say not many people have the same kind of passion, but it takes someone that was there to actually understand,’’ Davenport said at a Thursday press conference. “To be able to see him in this position I’d like to be able to help with that.”

The speech?

“It wasn’t like biting knee caps, it was something along the lines that we have grit, that’s the message I took away. Grit, he was being serious,’’ said Davenport who is 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds.

While he knew Campbell, he did his due diligence to learn about Lions GM Brad Holmes.

“He told me something nice, it made me smile,’’ Davenport said. “He said, ‘I watched your games and we can tell you’re one of those guys that really appreciates the game and puts it out there. You’re a physical player.’ He even said in the limited games you played,’’ Davenport said. “After hearing that it helped me feel like I made the right decision. It’s always nice to have some belief especially when I haven’t been able to prove everybody right.’’

Davenport, 27, also knows linebacker Alex Anzalone, a leader on the Lions defense, from their days with the Saints.

“Yeah you know he’s an alpha now. He’s always been a good dude, I didn’t expect nothing less,’’ Davenport said. I’m just happy to see him running around making plays and getting excited.’’

Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes: Season was no fluke, it’s only going to get better

ALLEN PARK — Brad Holmes is tired of the Detroit Lions successful season being described as a “cute story.’’

That is because, in the mind of the Detroit Lions vice president and general manager, it was none of that. It was not a Cinderella, magical season. It was much more.

Yes, the Lions won their first playoff game in 30 years — and they won a pair of them — but it was not an accident. There was no magic dust involved and fans can expect more in the future.

“I want to tell our fans, look, it’s only going to get better. We’re only going to get better. … This is exactly what was supposed to happen,’’ Holmes said in his post-season press conference on Monday,

He understands the long-suffering fans’ line of thought, but would like them to shake that off and look at what has happened in the last three years since he and coach Dan Campbell arrived.

“Every move that me and Dan make has been made to sustain what we are building. Every single move we make and every single move we do not make, is to sustain what we have been building,” Holmes said. “It’s real. Look, it’s all to normalize what we’re doing.’’

The Lions finished 12-5 in the regular season, winning the NFC North along the way. They beat the Los Angeles Rams in the wildcard game and the Tampa Bay Bucs in the divisional round. They were one half away from earning a trip to the Super Bowl against the 49ers when they collapsed in the second half of the NFC Championship game and lost.

The Lions have improved from 3-13-1 in the first year of the Campbell-Holmes regime, to 9-8 and just missing the playoffs, to making a splash in 2023. 

“We love where we’re at, this is supposed to be expected, it’s the standard. We love the window that we’re in, we just got finished with Year 3,’’ Holmes said. “We’re still building, we’ll stick to our plan, we’ll continue to put all our effort into improve each year which we’ve done, in my opinion.’’

Holmes, who came out quite fiery, also had a warning for fans as free agency (March 13) and the NFL Draft (April 25-27) approach. 

He hasn’t always gotten good immediate feedback from the media on his draft picks. He can live with the criticism, but he wants fans to be patient and wait until December to judge, not in the spring.

“I want them to know that over the next few months, don’t get spooked this spring by speculation or negative talk or the entertainment news feed — don’t get spooked by that to not think we can’t build and sustain what we’ve been building,’’ Holmes said.

 “… The next few months there’s a lot of speculation and a lot of opinions, people don’t know what’s going to happen. I just hope that they know every year that we’ve been upfront and straight with everybody,’’ Holmes said.  “Every move we make is intentional and, again, every move we do not make is intentional.’’

This was a point he hammered over and over during his nearly 40 minutes behind the podium.

“I want to make sure the fans know what we always said, we draft, develop, sign our own and build through the draft,’’ Holmes said. 

Also he made clear that not everyone can play for the Detroit Lions who base their roster decisions not just on talent but on personal characteristics. “That’s just reality, the standard that has been set,’’ Holmes said.

“Look, I think we all know adversity will always come, but that’s why we’re built on grit,” he said. “We’ll be ready for adversity. It will come regardless. That’s why we’re always preaching grit, grit, grit.”

Report: Ben Johnson, Lions offensive coordinator, to remain in Detroit

Ben Johnson, the innovative Detroit Lions offensive coordinator, will return to the team for the 2024 season, per an NFL Network report.

Johnson was thought to be a candidate for the head coaching openings for the Washington Commanders and Seattle Seahawks. He informed the teams that he’s staying with the Lions and wants another shot at bringing the Lombardi Trophy to Detroit, per the report on Tuesday.

The Lions lost 34-31 to the 49ers in Sunday’s NFC Championship game. 

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Johnson’s asking price “spooked some teams.” Johnson is 37 and will likely have more opportunities in the future.

Coach Dan Campbell was asked on Monday about his plans to replace Johnson if he should move on. 

“If it comes to that, that’s, obviously, very important. I mean, he was a critical piece for us. He’s a critical piece. And I’m not worrying about that just yet. I need to at least get two hours of sleep and then I’ll begin,’’ Campbell said.

Johnson has been with the Lions since he was hired as the offensive quality control coach in 2019. He was promoted to tight ends coach in 2020 and Campbell kept him on staff when he was hired in 2021. Johnson was promoted to pass game coordinator midway through the 2021 season and promoted to offensive coordinator prior to the 2022 season.

This season the LIons finished 12-5, won the NFC North and won two playoff games.

At the end of the regular season the Lions’ offense was ranked third in the NFL, averaging 394.8 yards per game with 58 touchdowns.

Many of the key offensive players including Jared Goff will return next season to a system, run by Johnson, that they are familiar with after playing in it for two seasons.