Notes: Dan Campbell is a ‘developmental wizard’ in Madden NFL 26

In the new Madden video game, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell earned one of the three coaching archetypes.

It wasn’t all that long ago that the Madden video game franchise didn’t even have an accurate depiction of Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell —leaving us with a figure we dubbed “Don Crimble .”

Now, it appears EA Sports is overcompensating for the missed time.

On Wednesday, they released the latest trailer for Madden NFL 26—focusing on Franchise Mode, and they promise “the most meaningful update in over a decade.”

One of those updates is a new customization of your head coach in Franchise Mode. And that’s where Campbell comes in. To start selecting your head coach style, you are given four “archetype” choices: offensive guru, defensive genius, development wizard, or real-life NFL coach. Each selection has its own strengths and weakness, and during the selection process, each choice has the face of a current NFL coach to represent that kind of archetype. Andy Reid is the offensive guru, Todd Bowles is the defensive genius, and there’s Dan Campbell representing the development wizard:

While some may take offense that Campbell is not being credited with his offensive scheme knowledge here, this is overall a pretty nice compliment, as well. Campbell has rightfully earned a reputation for getting the most out of his players as both an expert motivator and by knowing the limits of his team.

You can view the entire trailer below. Madden NFL 26 drops on August 14.

• Last week we wrote about Kerby Joseph Weekend down in Orlando. He followed that up by joining a local Detroit youth camp .

• Ahmed Hassanein can apparently break dance. Learn more about the Lions rookie defensive end here, including his very appropriate choice for walk-up music:

• Cool feature here from Justin Rogers on defensive quality control coach Dre Thompson . It offers a little more insight into what that role entails—and Thompson’s future aspirations.

• Decent article here from Doug Farrar discussing the possible “brain-drain” in Detroit and whether the Lions can survive it.

• Do you follow us on Instagram and TikTok ? If not, you’re missing out on YouTube and PODcast clips like this:

• If you’re a sicko, ESPN’s Matt Miller did a 2026 NFL Mock draft , and—surprise, surprise—the Lions took an edge defender .