Lions Dan Campbell finishes 7th in Coach of the Year voting, Jared Goff 6th in Comeback Player of Year

Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell wasn’t a finalist for 2022 Coach of the Year, but he did get some consideration from Associated Press voters this year. Among the 50 voters, Campbell received a total of seven votes. Here’s how those broke down:

• One (1) first-place vote
• Two (2) second-place votes
• Four (4) third-place votes

With AP’s scoring system (5, 3, and 1 point per vote), that left Campbell seventh in voting, behind Giants’ Brian Daboll (winner), 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan, Jaguars’ Doug Pederson, Bills’ Sean McDermott, Eagles’ Nick Sirianni, and Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell.

Campbell helped the Lions not only triple the team’s win total from the previous year—going from 3-13-1 to 9-8—but his leadership helped the Lions bounce back from a 1-6 start this year to finish the season on an 8-2 run.

“He has an elite ability to pull a team out of a dark place,” Lions general manager Brad Holmes said at the end of the season. “Whether it’s from a record standpoint, whether it’s something from he has to make a tough decision on the staff, it’s proven. Proof’s in the puddling.

“He had to make a tough decision on the staff last year, a decision I know he didn’t want but he had to, and he knew he had to. And he’s going to do it, he’s going to do what it takes for the team. He had to do it again this year, it was at 1-6, and he just has a rare, elite ability to pull a team out and right the ship. And when you have that, I think that’s just – it’s God given, and you just either have it or don’t, and he has that, and that’s one of the many qualities that I think makes him an elite coach.”

While Campbell likely deserved to be a little higher on the list this year, it is pretty darn cool that at least one AP voter gave him a first-place vote. If Detroit makes the playoffs next year and wins the division, you can pretty much guarantee he’ll finish higher in 2024.

Campbell wasn’t the only player who received top votes. Jared Goff also finished sixth in Comeback Player of the Year award after finishing the 2022 season top-10 in most statistical categories, including passing yards (sixth), touchdowns (sixth), yards per attempt (seventh), passer rating (seventh), and QBR (fifth). He received one first-place vote, three second-place votes, and a third-place vote.

To recap the Lions’ placement in award voting thus far:

• Aidan Hutchinson second in Defensive Rookie of the Year
• Ben Johnson second in Assistant Coach of the Year
• Dan Campbell seventh in Coach of the Year
• Jared Goff sixth in Comeback Player of the Year