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Dan Campbell is going to keep it blunt with his Detroit Lions — good or bad.
This year didn’t turn out how many believed it would for the Lions, and Campbell was asked during his end-of-season press conference how he would grade the 2025 campaign.
For a team that was a Super Bowl favorite out of the NFC in the preseason, Campbell called it like it is for his team.
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Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell addresses the media after an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
“Not good enough. We didn’t get in, we underachieved,” he said, per Yahoo Sports. “So, not good. I’d give myself a freaking F.”
The Lions were able to make it over .500, winning their Week 18 matchup against the Chicago Bears, 19-16. But Campbell has always been a tough self critic as much as he is with his squad, so it’s not shocking to hear him grade himself so harshly.
But Campbell knows that this is the first time since 2022 that the Lions have missed the playoffs, and a 9-8 season isn’t the standard now for the franchise.
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The Lions have had a slow build to one of the more formidable teams in the league, having gone 15-2 last year to earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC. They certainly fell short of expectations, though, being upset by rookie Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders at Ford Field in the Divisional Round.
Two years prior, the Lions made the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers after going 12-5. They would’ve made it to the team’s first-ever Super Bowl, too, if it wasn’t for a second-half collapse in the Bay Area that saw a miraculous 49ers comeback to earn a spot in the Big Game.
Campbell saw flux this past offseason on his coaching staff, with both of his top coordinators finding head coach jobs elsewhere.
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell looks on in the second half against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium in Sept. 22, 2024 in Glendale, Arizona. (Matt Kartozian/Imagn Images)
The big one was Ben Johnson, the offensive whiz who unlocked Jared Goff and company, taking the Bears job in the NFC North. Johnson went from a strong ally to a bitter rival, and Chicago went on to win the division title in his first year.
Aaron Glenn, the Lions’ defensive coordinator under Campbell, didn’t have the same luck as Johnson, as his New York Jets went 3-14. Glenn, though, wasn’t among those axed during “Black Monday,” as the Jets remain committed to him at least to start the 2026 season.
Campbell still can’t believe what happened after such a hot start to this season. The Lions went 4-1 to begin the year, but failed to find consistency after that.
A shocking Christmas Day loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 17 ended their playoffs hopes.
“It’s hard to believe that this is it,” Campbell said. “It’s going to be a hard pill to swallow watching these teams in the playoffs. But I think you’ve got to watch them. You’ve got to force yourself to do it because that’s a drive to want to be there, be a part of it.”
Head coach Dan Campbell looks on prior to the game against the Cleveland Browns at Ford Field on Sept. 28, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan. (Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)
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There’s no doubt Campbell will continue to trust his process and his team to get the job done, but he’ll have to wait until September to get a shot at checking off the playoff goal once again.
Campbell just completed his fifth season as head coach of the Lions. He owns a 53-43-1 record over 97 games.
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