Are Dan Campbell's Lions Losing Their Edge Without Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn?

Jason La Canfora, NFL insider

Key Findings:

• The Lions' record underscores Johnson's impact: Detroit is 36-15 with Ben Johnson on Campbell's staff, compared with 13-22-1 without him.
• An NFL executive questions whether Campbell can replace what his former coordinators provided: “Now they've forced Campbell to kind of try to be something he's not and it's not working.”
• Explosive plays are going the wrong way: Detroit has allowed 13 plays of at least 20 yards through two games, including seven of at least 25 yards. Its offense has produced just two plays of 25 yards or more.
• Discipline is becoming a concern: The Lions have committed 18 penalties in two games, with a costly sequence of flags in the first half against Buffalo.

Dan Campbell was the perfect coach for the Detroit Lions at a moment in time.

He is the ultimate tone setter, and a master motivator and with this sad-sack franchise searching for respect and desperate for a pulse and trying to instill belief in a roster being reworked, Campbell proved the perfect fit. He got the Lions to believe in themselves and they began to roll up wins in the division and they built an offense that was made to roll in their dome stadium in pristine conditions and they changed the way the rest of the league thought about Detroit.

And they blew a playoff game at San Francisco they never should have lost and they watched two top coordinators leave the organization to become head coaches and people no longer looked past them or took them for granted and expectations reached unforeseen levels and it's all come crashing down. And it's likely to continue doing so.

The version of the Lions we've seen since offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn departed before last season, is a cheap facsimile of the editions those men were a part of. The Lions now crumble in critical spots and find ways to lose games and succumb to penalties in crucial spots. They look a lot more like the early years of Campbell's regime, when his staffs were overmatched, than anything with Johnson and Campbell leading their respective units.

And many within the league believe the Lions lack the kind of elite tactical minds they once had, and they long ago lost the element of surprise, and that coupled with a roster that's already beat up along the offensive line and in the defensive secondary has people wondering if we've already seen as good as it's going to get for Campbell's Lions.

“He's got big problems,” said one longtime NFL personnel executive who has watched both Lions games. “They aren't the same since those coordinators left, especially Johnson. He ran like a masterclass offense. The timing and tempo and precision … He's special with all of that.”

“They had a great thing going there. Campbell is the Alpha and he could just be the walkaround guy and get everybody pumped up and practice and before the games and he didn't have to babysit the offense or the defense. That's what he is.”

“It can work that way, but you better have two coordinators who are at the top of their game. They can put the fires out and make the adjustments and deal with the schematic stuff the players have questions about. Now they've forced Campbell to kind of try to be something he's not and it's not working.”

The Lions are lucky not to be 0-2, benefiting from a controversial call and escaping the Saints in overtime in Week 1 after blowing a lead. Young quarterback Tyler Shough, in just his 10th start, lit them up in the second half, they still lack pass rush opposite superstar Aidan Hutchinson, and injuries to their safeties are inviting teams to chuck the ball to all quadrants of the field.

This doesn't look like a quick fix, and merely getting a few bodies back might not be enough.

They have already allowed 13 plays of 20 yards or more through two games – yes, Buffalo’s offense can be dynamic and they faced the Bills christening a new stadium – and seven of 25 yards or more and 10 runs of 10 yards or more.

This is an era when “explosive play differential” as Rams coach Sean McVay explained it to me this spring, means everything, and the ability to uncork gains of a quarter of the field or more, coupled with the understanding of how to negate them, is becoming increasingly correlated to winnings (teams that generated three more 25-yard plays than they surrendered were 6-1 Week 1).

And a Lions offense that was a monster at YAC (yards after the catch) under Johnson, rolling up explosive plays even when quarterback Jared Goff wasn't trying to push it deep downfield, is now constipated and constricted, relying on Jahmyr Gibbs to try to get big gains on the ground. Detroit has produced just two plays of 25 yards or more, with a troubling -5 differential thus far.

“The offense doesn't dictate like it did when Johnson was there,” one advance scout told me this summer. “It's still a productive group, but it's not what it was. Goff isn't as comfortable without him.”

In truth, nothing really is. His decision to promote from within for these jobs showed not just hubris, but a misguided viewpoint that what these units accomplished was part of some alleged collective groupthink and not the work of standout individual play designers and play callers. It was a nod to their “culture,” which is fraying, and it was reinforced by personnel decisions that showed a lack of attention to their needs (anyone who could play cornerback) and a stubbornness that they could blitz and play man coverage without having them.

Then there are the penalties.

Campbell wears his emotions on his sleeve, and aggression (on fourth down or otherwise) became their brand, and with both sides of the ball slipping without Glenn and Johnson there, that fiery side is showing through a lack of discipline and proclivity for flags. And it's increasingly problematic. Some of the things that defined them and helped them climb the standings as upstarts, have undermined them since becoming a top contender.

Eighteen penalties through two games – even if one did go to overtime – is pretty ridiculous and the sequence in which they came in the first half in Buffalo was staggering and backbreaking.

“I want Dan Campbell with a team on the way up, not the way down,” one GM suggested to me. “That's still a good football team. But is it a great one?”

They certainly were with Glenn and Johnson there.

Jason La Canfora, NFL insider

Jason La Canfora has covered the NFL full-time since 2004. He covered the Washington Commanders for five years at The Washington Post, then spent three years as NFL insider for the NFL network across all platforms and 10 years as the NFL insider for CBS Sports, appearing every Sunday on 'The NFL today'. before returning to The Washington Post to cover the NFL for 5 years.

He has deep connections in front offices, with coaches and agents across the league to bring unique perspective to his coverage, along with an understanding of advanced data.

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