Lions HC Dan Campbell Issues Sharp Warning to Team’s Star Player

Dan Campbell Questioned on Social Media ‘Leak’

As Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports noted, the video shared by Gibbs showed Jefferson in front of a whiteboard that appeared to contain offensive plays and drop-back protections, including codes for specific calls.

The post from Gibbs began making the rounds on Saturday, after the Lions had already dispatched the Chicago Bears on a Thanksgiving day showdown, and Campbell was asked about it by reporters. The Lions coach didn’t seem aware of the accidental leak at first, but issued a warning about giving that kind of information out to other teams.

“Oh I didn’t know that,” Campbell said, asking the reporter to repeat the name of the player who made the post. “I did not know that. Yeah, I need to check on that then. Did not know that. Yeah, I’d rather our stuff not be out there.”

Gibbs has been a centerpiece of Detroit’s offense this season, already surpassing his rookie-year production through just 12 games. Gibbs has rushed for 973 yards with 10 touchdowns, adding 28 receptions for 282 yards with another receiving touchdown.

Jahmyr Gibbs Hit the Bench in Thanksgiving Win

Gibbs encountered some early struggles in his team’s win over the Bears on Thanksgiving, losing a fumble and dropping a pass that robbed the Lions of a chance to build on their 16-0 lead.

The Bears rallied in the second half as Gibbs remained largely on the bench. As MLive.com’s Kory Woods noted, the second-year running back had just two carries and one catch in the second half as veteran David Montgomery took the lead.

Campbell warned not to look too much into the uneven split between Montgomery and Gibbs in the second half, noting that it was more a reflection of the entire offense’s struggle to hold onto the ball and generate long drives.

“No, not really. I mean, I think it was more; we kind of cycled those guys, and David (Montgomery) was kind of in rotation, and then we just didn’t get a lot of plays,” Campbell told reporters. “We had two of those drives that were stall-outs. We had a three-and-out and a four-and-out, or I guess both of ‘em may have been a four-and-out, and so it just didn’t quite work out really quickly.”

Though the Lions came close to blowing their lead on Thursday — with the Bears running out of time on a final drive with a chance to kick a game-tying field goal — the win was an important one for their playoff standing. The Lions have now won 10 straight games, taking a two-game lead over the Philadelphia Eagles for top overall seed in the NFC.