Report: Dan Campbell to finish Saints exit interviews before taking Lions job

The Detroit Lions can hire their new head coach at any time, but Dan Campbell wants to handle all the responsibilities left on his desk before leaving the New Orleans Saints. Because of NFL rules, he was only allowed to speak with suitors until the Saints’ season ended, at which point he can join a new team. Their playoffs loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers opens the door for him and others to go pursue new opportunities.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that Campbell is expected to be announced as Detroit’s next head coach later this week, once he’s formally met with the team in person after interviewing virtually. That’s when he’ll be able to put pen to paper.

So he’ll spend these last few days in New Orleans reviewing the performances of his tight ends: co-starters Josh Hill and Jared Cook; rookie draft pick Adam Trautman; as well as Garrett Griffin and Ethan Wolf, from the practice squad. Campbell has conducted these exit interviews before and even sat on the other side of the desk (or Zoom teleconference call, I guess) as a former player himself.

It’ll be interesting to see where things go from here. Trautman was drafted with the vision of Campbell developing him, but the Saints will have to shift gears and find someone new. Campbell will soon be building his own staff in Detroit and it’s anyone’s guess how many Saints assistants he may take with him. It’s just another subplot to an offseason full of them for New Orleans.