Just how much leeway does Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell have in this rebuild?

I love the energy, enthusiasm, and endless flow of kool-aid that has come out of Allen Park this offseason. The Detroit Lions are trending in the right direction, especially with their strong close to the 2021 season, and I’m confident they’ll be at least a middling team in 2022. But what if they aren’t?

Before we jump into this, I already mentioned I’m optimistic about the team’s outlook. This isn’t me being a hater; it’s an important question to ask. The same way we set expectations as to what constitutes success every season, we must have expectations as to what constitutes failure. The Lions are in the thick of a rebuild with a new regime that has won a total of three games, and we’re all riding very high off of unguaranteed things like draft picks and the promise of players returning from injury.

Question of the day: How few wins would it take for Dan Campbell to get fired in 2022?

This question comes with the caveat of no freak derailment of the season, like losing your starting QB or getting ravaged by injuries, etc.

My answer: 2 or less.

The Lions need not regress. If they take a step back with a healthy roster and year two of their budding young core, then that’s a huge red flag. There are seventeen games in an NFL season, and to only Win two given the current trajectory of this team would be bad. The new regime has two drafts and two free agencies under its belt and that warrants a solid floor, one that’s higher than two wins.

Don’t get me wrong, three wins aren’t passable. However, I could see how given the kind of staff that has been assembled, with many future head coaching prospects and great player development, Campbell would be afforded a third season. Of course, his seat would be red hot to start season three, and I think it remains fairly warm with four or five wins as well. In the unfortunate event that Campbell is clearly not the answer, I think general manager Brad Holmes would go for an in-season firing that way he could test run a season of one of his head coaches in waiting like Aaron Glenn or Aubrey Pleasant.

At the end of the day, I think too many coaches are given too short of a leash, but I don’t think that’s going to happen to Campbell. He is under contract for six years, after all. Two wins, however, would be too little, and he’d need a handful more to keep his seat cool heading into year three.

Am I being too harsh? How many wins do you think the threshold is at? Vote in the poll below and let us know.