One of the biggest reasons the Detroit Lions have returned to being one of the better teams in the NFL is because of Dan Campbell and his winning culture. After an expected turbulent first season in which the Lions finished 3-13-1, Campbell and the Lions have registered four straight winning seasons, including their 15-2 record in 2024.
The Lions were the NFC’s No. 1 seed entering the postseason, something the franchise had never done before.
As a result, Campbell has staked his claim as one of the best head coaches in the NFL. But, where does Campbell stand in the experts’ eyes entering 2026 after a 9-8 season in 2025?
CBS’ experts ranked their top 10 head coaches. A first-place vote was worth 10 points, a second-place vote was worth nine points and a 10th-place vote was worth one point.
While Campbell did get votes, he didn’t receive enough to crack the top 10. Campbell landed 11th on CBS’ head coach rankings entering 2026.
Here was CBS’ top 10 head coaches heading into 2026:
Campbell’s ranking places him third in the NFC North behind the Bears’ Ben Johnson and the Packers’ Matt LaFleur. Kevin O’Connell, the Minnesota Vikings’ head coach, also received six points to rank 13th among NFL head coaches.
Campbell’s highest ranking from the experts was No. 7.
Different people are obviously going to have different rankings, but you can still make a fair argument that Campbell is a top-10 coach. The Lions have become more aggressive under Campbell and have won plenty of games because of him. Have they lost a few because of him? Sure. But, the ratio certainly favors the wins.
A return to the playoffs in 2026 should help Campbell jump back into the top 10 of plenty more lists for 2027.
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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: CBS snubs Lions’ Dan Campbell from NFL’s top 10 coaches entering 2026
Reporting by Billy Riccette, Lions Wire / Lions Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Billy Riccette, Lions Wire | USA TODAY Network
