The Lions finished with a winning record in three of their four years under Jim Caldwell. But they were 14-33-1 in their last three seasons under Matt Patricia and interim head coach Darrell Bevell.
Still, the team’s new head coach Dan Campbell is apparently optimistic about the state of the roster he and new General Manager Brad Holmes have inherited.
“Certainly there are pieces here I like. There’s a number of pieces here I was excited about. Is there going to need to be a little retooling as Brad would say? Yeah, there is. Those are the facts of the matter,” Campbell said, via Tim Twentyman of the Lions’ website. “But I’m not so sure this is what some may think it is or as far away as some may think it is.”
Campbell also told Twentyman he’s excited to work with Holmes, who was the Rams director of college scouting before accepting the job in Detroit.
“We bounce everything off each other and he has been better than advertised,” Campbell said. “You talk about a fit. He and I see things very much alike. He’s no different than me. He has zero ego. He’s all about Dan, ‘What can I do to help you?’”
That partnership will be critical to getting the roster re-tooled and making Detroit a competitor quickly.