Under head coach Dan Campbell, the Detroit Lions have the best odds to win the NFC North at +180 ahead of the 2026 season, per DraftKings. On top of that, the team has won the NFC North division twice in the last four years and has recorded four consecutive winning seasons. However, Fox Sports Radio personality Rob Parker believes the beginning of the end of Dan Campbell’s tenure in the Motor City has already begun.

“I am now convinced, anybody listening to my voice in Detroit or the suburbs, this is the beginning of the end of Dan Campbell,” Parker said on The Odd Couple. “A bad season here and I expect the Lions to make a change because this will be two bad years, possibly not making the playoffs, a blown chance against Washington when they were the No. 1 team in the NFC and a blown chance at a Super Bowl. They were two quarters, a half away from getting in the Super Bowl (during 2023 season).”

Parker’s thought on Campbell stemmed from the recent arrest of cornerback Terrion Arnold, who is facing several felony charges. At the same time, the radio host believes that the Lions have been hemorrhaging their roster ever since their NFC Championship round loss to the San Francisco 49ers in January 2024.

The Lions held a 24-7 lead at halftime but ultimately allowed the 49ers to rally for a 34-31 victory and advance to the Super Bowl. Following the heartbreaking defeat, Campbell admitted that it might have been the team’s best and perhaps only opportunity to reach the Super Bowl.

“Look, I told those guys, ‘This may have been our only shot,” Campbell said. “Do I think that? No…However, I know how hard it is to get here. I’m well aware. It’s going to be twice as hard to get to this point next year than it was this year.”

Then, in the 2024 season, the Lions won the top seed in the NFC after a 15-2 finish in the regular season and had a home-game advantage against the Washington Commanders. However, they let rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels outplay them, as Detroit fell to a 45-31 score. Last year, however, Campbell’s unit even failed to make the playoffs.

Now, Parker argues that the Lions lose key pieces every year. Last season, Frank Ragnow retired, leaving a major void on the offensive line. This year, Terrion Arnold’s arrest has created another distraction. Add in the fact that the Chicago Bears have emerged as the contenders under Ben Johnson, the Green Bay Packers acquiring Micah Parsons, and the Minnesota Vikings resolving their quarterback depth issues, and those developments alone are enough to shut the Lions’ Super Bowl window.

“And, as I look at this roster and look at this team hemorrhaging players, it’s not the same from three years ago,” Parker added. “The demise of the Lions has started big-time, and I expect Dan Campbell to be the casualty after this season.”

At the same time, however, Kelvin Washington came in support of the Lions’ head coach, as he disagreed with Parker on Campbell’s fall in Detroit.

“I don’t agree with the Dan Campbell part. I would almost agree with more of the other things in the Dan Campbell, because I think Dan Campbell, the way he came into this thing, as you know, I laughed at it. I was ticked off. I’m like, ‘Man, what this guy biting kneecaps. We don’t need this.’ And the way he was able to, along with Brad Holmes, general manager of the team, able to make great moves, great signings, always draft very well. That clearly helps.

“Because I don’t give a dang how good of a coach you are. If your 53-man roster is trash, good luck. So, drafting well, getting guys, you mentioned the talent they’ve accumulated. And then obviously with Dan Campbell and his coaching and kind of creating that culture, and he had obviously some great coordinators. So, I won’t deny that.”

Dan Campbell is entering the 6th year as the Lions’ head coach. Across five seasons, he has made the postseason only twice. And after failing to miss the playoffs last year, it won’t be unfair to say that the head coach will have to do something special if he is to keep his job beyond the 2026 season, despite the loss of players he has had.