Report: Ex-Cowboys TE now frontrunner for Lions’ HC job

The Detroit Lions may be zeroing in on their man, according to reports. He has a ton of Cowboys connections, and he may have beaten out another Cowboys alum for the job.

Current Saints assistant head coach and tight ends coach Dan Campbell is said to be the leading candidate for the Lions’ head coaching job. Campbell played tight end for Dallas for three seasons, leaving for Detroit after the 2005 season once it became clear that Jason Witten would be an immovable fixture in the Cowboys’ starting lineup at the position.

Now according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, the 44-year-old Campbell may be returning to the Motor City as the man in charge.

Campbell was a third-round pick by the Giants in 1999. The Texas A&M product appeared in Super Bowl XXXV as a rookie.

When Bill Parcells took over as Dallas’s coach in 2003, Campbell was one of the first free agents signed. But the immediate splash made by the rookie Witten relegated Campbell to, primarily, a blocker.

In 2004, Campbell played in three games before going on injured reserve with a foot injury. The following season, he missed just ten days of practice following an appendectomy and came back to start all four preseason games. During the season, he started 12 games alongside Witten in the two-tight end set run by the Cowboys offense.

Over his three seasons in Dallas, the gritty and hard-nosed Campbell played in 35 games. He caught 25 balls for 235 yards and two touchdowns.

Campbell played three seasons with Detroit before heading to New Orleans, where he was signed by his former Cowboys offensive coordinator Sean Payton. Despite spending the year on IR, Campbell earned a championship ring for the Saints’ win in Super Bowl XLIV. He retired after the 2009 season.

After progressing through the coaching ranks in Miami (under former Dallas assistant Tony Sparano) and even acting as interim head coach there in 2015 (when current Cowboys offensive line coach Joe Philbin was ousted by the Dolphins), Campbell was reunited once again with Payton in New Orleans, where he’s been since.

Detroit, having just hired a new executive vice president/general manager on Thursday, was expected to interview Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator- and Cowboys secondary coach from 2005 to 2007- Todd Bowles for the head coach position Friday. The two sides have decided to cancel that interview, though, as per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

Despite not even having had a face-to-face meeting, the Lions gig appears to be Campbell’s to lose.

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