As soon as Dan Campbell finished his post-game press conference following the Lions' season-ending loss to the Commanders, he was ready to move forward. He knew a busy offseason awaited him, starting with replenishing a coaching staff that would soon be raided by teams around the NFL.
The Bears took his offensive coordinator, wide receivers coach and assistant quarterbacks coach. The Jets took his defensive coordinator, passing game coordinator and tight ends coach. The Patriots took his defensive line coach.
In free agency, the Patriots took the Lions' top cornerback, Carlton Davis III. The Titans took their best guard, Kevin Zeitler. But the Lions kept everyone else of note, and bolstered the roster with cornerback DJ Reed from the Jets, nose tackle Roy Lopez from the Cardinals and linebacker/special teams ace Grant Stuard from the Colts.
Campbell interviewed 26 different coaches to rebuild his staff, opting for a couple familiar faces in Kelvin Sheppard and John Morton for his vacant coordinator positions. He also retained key coaches like Hank Fraley on the offensive line and Scottie Montgomery, who's transitioning from running backs to wide receivers. The pillars of a team that won back-to-back NFC North titles are still in place. Some, like Aidan Hutchinson, are being restored.
"A lot of this is about bringing our own guys back, which is the reason we drafted them or signed them before as free agents," said Campbell. "We’ve done that. We’ve added to that, DJ Reed, Lopez and Stuard, from elsewhere, to come in. They fit us and what we’re about ... For what they're asked to do, they’re all three competitive, productive players. And man, it’s the way they play the game. They don’t back down from anybody."
In the aftermath of the Lions' 45-31 loss to the Commanders, Campbell didn't dissect the particulars of each play. Detroit just chose the worst time to play its worst game of the season, with five turnovers on offense and few answers on defense. With his offseason duties calling, "you don’t really have time to digest all those things of the last game," said Campbell.
"But what I do know is, you gotta be careful. You come out of it and you say, 'Man, what’s wrong? What’s wrong with us?' I mean, we did it right. We had 15 wins in a season. We played bad at the wrong time. So, careful tweaking things. What you’ve got is good enough. We just gotta play better in that moment. But it also means we can’t stay the same, we all know that. That’s not good for anybody."
The Lions also have to get a little luckier. The storm of injuries that ravaged their defense last year can't possibly strike twice, which has shaped their path this offseason. Campbell and Brad Holmes have mostly reassembled the unit with the knowledge that it was thriving before losing starters at every level. The Lions were allowing the second fewest points per game in the NFL deep into November.
On the defensive line, "we really got everybody back that we wanted to get," said Campbell, from Levi Onwuzurike and Marcus Davenport to linebacker Derrick Barnes. Alim McNeill's return from a torn ACL will be a boost later in the season.
"And we’re not done, either. That’s the point. And we don’t know when (the next addition could come)," he said. "Maybe it will be the draft, we’re looking at everything. It could be after the draft, it could be any time. But at this point, we do, we like where we’re at."
Detroit's defense did benefit from playing a cushy slate of quarterbacks last season, which was most evident when it ran into stars like Josh Allen and Jayden Daniels. That won't be the case this season. The Lions have road games against Jalen Hurts and the Super Bowl champion Eagles, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, Joe Burrow and the Bengals, Matthew Stafford and the Rams, Daniels and the Commanders, and the talented, young quarterbacks in the NFC North.
Campbell, for his part, loves it.
"You’re always looking for the nuggets of motivation, man, and that’s it," he said. "This is a challenge. We’re competitive, I’m competitive, so yeah, I love the thought of it, man. These are going to be outdoors, grass, I hope it rains, it’s mud, it’s everything, the whole deal. It is, we’re in a meat-grinder. This is going to be a meat-grinder. And I've said this before: we could be a better team than we were last year and have more losses. There is a chance that could happen. And that’s OK. As long as we learn from what those are and get better coming out of them, we’ll be good.
"Because I always think of this: no matter that happens in the season, you’re trying to sharpen your sword for the playoffs."
It was dull last year when their lives depended on it. With better health and the same core of players next year, the Lions are hoping to finish the fight.