Dan Campbell has surprising response to Lions’ primetime snub
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell on the field before action against the Chicago Bears, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2021, at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirthmon F. Dozier/USA TODAY NETWORK
Some around the Detroit Lions may feel disrespected that the team is the only one in the NFL to not be scheduled for a primetime game in the 2022 season. Head coach Dan Campbell clearly is not one of them.
Campbell was asked his feelings about the Lions being the lone NFL team to not be scheduled in primetime this coming season. The head coach seemed genuinely enthusiastic, responding that the consistent schedule of 1 p.m. games was good for routine.
“It’s awesome. One o’clock games, it’s awesome,” Campbell said at his Saturday press conference. “You knock them out, you go home, you get ready for the next opponent. You’re not waiting all day in the hotel, all night, then you go out and you’re on a short week, it feels like, so I got no problem. And by the way, you can get flexed (Weeks) 5 to 15, so who said we can’t get flexed?”
Talk about turning a negative into a positive. Campbell doesn’t seem to be putting on a front here, either. He seems genuinely thrilled to have avoided any Sunday, Monday, or Thursday night windows. The team’s social media staff didn’t seem as thrilled, but that’s just natural.
As Campbell noted, the Lions can be flexed into primetime in the latter part of the season. If that happens, it probably means the Lions are beating expectations, so the coach could probably get over it in that scenario.
