Indianapolis — Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes conducted their press sessions at the NFL scouting combine late Wednesday afternoon, taking questions for nearly 40 minutes combined. Instead of hammering you over the head with a dozen separate headlines, we thought it would be best to consolidate the best stuff from both in a one-stop recap.
▶ Campbell elaborated on a number of changes to his coaching staff, including the pending hire of longtime head coach John Fox.
With the departures of Duce Staley, Todd Wash and John Morton, Campbell said each decision was related to those coaches’ families, and allowing them to pursue new opportunities was the right thing to do.
Scottie Montgomery, who was hired as Staley’s replacement coaching the running backs and serving as Campbell’s assistant head coach, was interviewed by Campbell as a potential offensive coordinator last offseason prior to Ben Johnson officially getting the job.
“I think he’s going to be an outstanding teacher; I think he’s got a lot of versatility,” Campbell said of Montgomery. “He’s coached receivers, he’s coached running backs, he’s been a head coach, he’s been a coordinator, he’s worked with quarterbacks, so, I just think this is a talented coach that’s got a lot of wisdom. He’s a motivator. We’re happy to have him.”
As for Fox, who has 16 years of head-coaching experience, including a pair of Super Bowl trips, the sides have reached an agreement, but the deal hasn’t been officially signed. He’s expected to serve as a senior defensive consultant.
“John was the defensive coordinator when I was with the Giants as a young player, and that’s where our relationship began,” Campbell said. “A very successful head coach, three different teams in this league. He’s been out of it for about five years, he went back to Indy last year kind of in the same capacity, senior defensive assistant, and man, you could see the fire in him. It’s impressive, man. He misses the chess match. He misses preparing for an opponent and just worrying about defense. I think he’s going to be great at helping (coordinator Aaron Glenn), just watching his blind spots, which is really what Johnny Mo (Morton) did for us on offense, to help Ben out. I think he’ll be a great addition.”
▶ Every year, teams talk about finding players who truly love football, but that can be tricky to navigate, since most prospects are coached on what to say. Asked if he’s learned anything about identifying those guys who embody that spirit, such as foundational pieces like Amon-Ra St. Brown and Penei Sewell, Campbell talked about how rare those guys are, but noted he’s stumbled on a few who have grabbed his attention in Indianapolis.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Campbell said. “I would say this: I don’t know how many guys we’ve met with at this point. Really over these two to three days, let’s call it 30 guys, 35 guys. And I’ve check-marked four guys. And to me, they got the ‘it’ factor. Just when you sit in there and you hear them talk about football. There’s a fire burning in them.
“They can’t sit in their seat,” Campbell continued. “They got to get up to talk. … You watch the guys, you present them this mini-install before they get to the tape. Taking notes, asking questions and then, man, when you go, they throw the sheet down, because, to them, it’s a competition. Like, I’m about to show you how good I can do this. I’m about to show you what I can retain, I’m going to show you that I understand what you’re wanting me to do. And those guys are rare. If you can find those guys and they’ve got some ability, which most guys here do, it’s hard not to like them.”
▶ The Lions recently made their first big move of the offseason, releasing Michael Brockers and clearing an additional $10 million in cap space ahead of free agency. Holmes said the team is still working through some other contract situations before the signing period later this month.
“Those conversations are currently going on right now as we speak, so, we’re still having discussions with players’ agents, and if we need to do anything down the road, then we will, if needed,” Holmes said.
The team has a number of other potential cap casualties, including guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai and edge defenders Romeo Okwara and Charles Harris.
▶ Holmes highlighted his excitement about adding Brett Fischer to the staff as the director of player health and performance, with an aim of improving the team’s overall performance on the medical side.
“He’s going to be a big part of our medical performance and medical advancement going forward,” Holmes said. “He came highly recommended. Just getting to know him through the process, we’re always looking to get better in all areas of our organization, and going through this process and getting to know Brett, I quickly saw what everybody was saying about him.
“He’s a forward thinker, he’s a collaborator and he’s going to head our medical process, working in conjunction with (director of sports performance) Mike Clark,” Holmes continued. “We just want to get better with our medical performance in general, but most importantly, just our player well-being. I think Brett Fischer is going to be a huge cog in that.”
▶ Regarding the running-back position, Holmes acknowledged a mutual interest in bringing back pending free agent Jamaal Williams, who topped 1,000 yards for the first time in his career last season, while leading the NFL in rushing touchdowns with 17.
Williams had added opportunities last season because D’Andre Swift struggled to stay on the field for the third consecutive season. Campbell bemoaned the failed, proactive approach to keeping Swift healthy and acknowledged the intention to go back to the drawing board this year.
“We thought we had a recipe going into the year, and it didn’t work out,” Campbell said. “He got a little bit banged up and then by the end of the year, he started to feel better and his production started to go up, so listen. We’re going to start all over from scratch again. Let’s find another way to see if we can help him stay on the field, you know? I already know he’s doing that for himself, so we’ve got to do that on our end. What can we do better by him? Because he’s too talented. He’s too talented to not have out there. He’s an explosive athlete.”
▶ According to Holmes, defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike is on track with his rehab after missing all of last season because of a back injury that required surgery. Holmes wouldn’t go as far as to confirm Onwuzurike would be ready for any portion of the offseason program, only noting the team would be smart with the young lineman.
▶ Holmes was asked about the importance of adding to the defense this offseason, which seems obvious after the team finished last in yards allowed last season, despite second-half improvements. Still, the GM made it clear he felt there wasn’t a single position on the roster that couldn’t afford to be upgraded this offseason.
“I’ll tell you what, I mean, we said at the start of our free-agency meetings, I think last year we were a little bit more pointed, but I think every single position is on the table,” Holmes said. “There’s not one position that we could think of, offense and defense, that we don’t need to address. Whether that’s starting-level players or looking at some good, quality depth.”
Holmes did note that the Lions should see some natural improvement on defense after leaning heavily on the team’s rookie class last season. Those comments were echoed by Campbell, while the coach noted a need to add more savvy players to the mix.
“We want to get more athletic and we need to get smarter,” Campbell said. “And some of that’s just because we’re young. We’re going to continue to grow, just by the nature of our young guys developing and learning football. Hutch (Aidan Hutchinson) is only going to be another year smarter. And he’s got pretty high FBI (football intelligency). Mac (Alim McNeil) is only going to get a little bit better. Kerby (Joseph)’s only going to get a little bit better. But, at the same time, these players we acquire, man, need to have some FBI to them. They need to love it and have some FBI.”
▶ On offense, Holmes said the team likes its tight-end group, but is, of course, going to look for upgrades. Based on his comments, it seems he’d prefer to add a veteran to the young room.
“We’re always looking to add,” Holmes said. “We’ll not leave a stone unturned. If there’s someone that can help us that has a little more experience, maybe, that can bring a little bit more immediate contribution.
▶ As for the quarterback position, Holmes continued to voice his support for Jared Goff as the franchise’s starter, while saying there will be a concerted effort to better address the backup situation after the franchise’s struggles last offseason.
“I feel like last year we kind of left training camp kind of sliding into home plate trying to fill that backup quarterback role,” Holmes said. “That’s on me. I gotta do a better job of making sure that we’re not in that position again. So, that is something that we’re gonna need to address, whether it’s here in free agency or upcoming in the draft. That’s something that we’ve had a lot of conversations about. I gotta do a better job of making sure we get that rectified.”
Asked specifically whether a quarterback is in play with one of the team’s two first-round picks, Holmes responded with a platitude.
“We’re going to get the best football players that fit us.”
▶ Holmes said the Lions made a strong push to keep college scouting director Dave Sears in the fold, but couldn’t hang on to the “elite evaluator,” who opted to take Arizona’s assistant general manager job under former colleague Monti Ossenfort.
Holmes said the plan is to fill the vacancy after the draft and assistant college scouting director Brian Hudspeth is in the mix.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers