Ahead of the 2026 NFL season, the “Hot seat” speculations are surrounding around the Detroit Lions' head coach Dan Campbell. However, this time it is Rich Eisen’s co-host who suprisingly put Campbell on the hot seat. 

During Monday's episode of The Rich Eisen Show, the show's co-host and senior producer Chris Brockman put five coaches who will be entering the 2026 NFL season on a hot seat, including Campbell.

“Year 6 coming up for Dan Campbell, can you believe that?” Brockman said. “And Detroit, only 2-2 in the playoffs. I thought we would’ve had another NFC Championship Game, maybe a Super Bowl run in them. I think it’s kinda—with the Bears coming on and we don’t know what Minnesota is going to look like and obviously Green Bay is right there—big year for Dan Campbell.”

According to Brockman, Dan Campbell stands in third position among the five coaches. The list includes the following:

• Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals
• Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia Eagles
• Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Aaron Glenn, New York Jets

For Brockman, the major concern is about the Motor City’s record under Campbell. Since his induction as the head coach, the Lions have gone 2-2 in the playoffs. 

In continuation of the conversation, Eisen somehow agreed with his co-host’s opinions. 

“I don’t think that’s an overreaction. I don’t know, dude. We’ll see how the season plays out. We’ll see how it plays out, but I would be surprised,” Eisen said. 

The claims are made based on the results of the 2025 NFL playoffs, where the Lions narrowly missed the playoffs and called off their season with a 9-8 record.

Finishing last in the division, the Lions faced several injuries in their roster and a devastating loss against the Washington Commanders (45-31) in 2024. 

Campbell took the Lions' head coaching command in 2021, after succeeding Matt Patricia.

Since then, the Lions hold a total record of 48-36-1 in the regular season (50-38-1, including playoffs) with the franchise's record of 15 wins in the 2024 NFL season.

Campbell’s Detroit Turnaround Makes Hot Seat Claims Difficult

For analyst Jeremy Reisman, these claims are not proven based on Dan Campbell’s performance as a head coach. 

Campbell is the first head coach to pull the Lions out of their losing drought. 

“I suspect the reason is because of the overall reputation—earned or unearned. Campbell isn’t viewed as an “offensive genius,” while guys like O’Connell and LaFleur are,” Reisman wrote.

Reisman believes these claims are being made because Campbell is not seen as an "offensive genius” by many analysts. He has built the Lions environment around “GRIT”. 

Whereas coaches like Kevin O'Connell of the Minnesota Vikings, Ben Johnson of the Chicago Bears, and Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers are considered the cerebrals who work on tactics and strategies. 

On the contrary, Campbell continued to deliver for the Lions. He is the first head coach for the Lions who made them NFC Champions in the last 32 years.

It would be too early to comment on Campbell’s future in the Lions, and Reisman is keeping his stance firm.

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Written by

Kunwar Yashaswee Chhaunker

Edited by

Rishab Nandi