"We really didn’t start serious conversations until the season was over, " Wood said. “I didn’t want to get anybody distracted from anything but it was certainly on my mind knowing where the season was headed. When we initially hired both of them, Dan initially got a six-year contract, Brad got a five-year contract, so one of my objectives was to get them aligned with the same end date. So, extended Brad by two years, Dan by one, so they are both with us for the next four years at least and hopefully much longer.”
Once the conversations began, it didn’t take long for Holmes and Campbell to sign. Wood said he has good relationships with the representatives for both Campbell and Holmes and worked on extending the contract and being “fair to them” in the deal, given the performance of the Lions in 2023 and what the leaders of the team mean to the city.
“Both their representatives I know well, we’ve done other deals together,” Wood said. “So it was a win-win and it really took basically a week from start to finish to get it done.”
Campbell brought the energy he has become loved for throughout the Lions’ fanbase to his interview. He interviewed around 8 a.m. the morning after coaching in a playoff game with the New Orleans Saints and showed up caffeinated and ready to state his case to Lions leadership.
“Now that you all know Dan, you can imagine this: He’s drinking a double coffee like this,” Wood said while mimicking chugging a drink, drawing laughs from the crowd, before delivering a Campbell impersonation from the interview. "He goes, 'I want this job.’ He didn’t need a job, he wanted our job. He wanted the Detroit Lions job. He played here, he knew the city, knew the culture.
Holmes caught Wood’s eye in the first two minutes of his zoom interview, prompting Wood to write a note labeling him as “the guy” for the GM opening because of his ability to convey his personality, leadership and intellect through a computer screen with ease.
How can you have sports reporters doing an interview and not ask about Goff/ARSB extensions? Really thought one would be done before the league year, now I’m expecting both this summer some time.
Obviously both of their extensions are going to be massive and have significant cap ramifications for many years to come. To me it makes more sense to do these deals after FA and the draft. They now know the majority of what they will have committed to 2024 and beyond with the FA deals already struck. I think now the focus should be solely on the draft, and not worrying about extending players. Once the draft finishes up, you then turn your focus on these deals, IMO. I personally believe Sewell, St. Brown, and Goff will be extended before camp starts.
I personally want McNeil extended as well, but I have no clue how that one will play out.
I figured they’d tie the contract/signing bonuses to when they receive the revenue sharing from TV contracts. I have no idea how it’s distributed, my guess has always been a month or two after the airing, i.e. they receive all of 2023 by April of 2024 ($300+ Million total). It’s possible that it’s more staggered or maybe the networks prepay some of it. If anyone knows, I’d love to hear about it.
But from a cash/cap standpoint we are in such good shape to start extending our guys.
Lion’s had different final decision makers and influencers in the two hirings which, for me, is “the” difference more than anything RW brought to the table in the two options.
But it also seems a bit foolish to jump into writing “he’s the guy” after a first impression on zoom.
It just could seem like then you aren’t really considering other options making the search less thorough.
Though Brad seems worth it. BQ not as much.
