Has the Lions' Super Bowl Window Closed? Colin Cowherd Says 'Self-Audit' Is Necessary

Is the Detroit Lions' Super Bowl window closed?

FOX Sports Colin Cowherd doesn't believe it is entirely, but he's certainly worried.

"You have to look in the mirror," Cowherd said about the Lions' organization on "The Herd". "In any business — and football is a business — to turn around a sinking ship, you have to self-audit."

Vikings beat Lions 23-10, Has Detroit’s Super Bowl window officially closed? | The Herd

Detroit's 23-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings destroyed its playoff hopes and ensured an early offseason. And Cowherd believes the Lions must use that offseason for a major overhaul if they want to maintain their status as a contender. 

While head coach Dan Campbell did a bang-up job in turning around what used to be an embarrassing franchise, he can only do so much as a "culture-creating" coach, as Cowherd called him.

"When you have the culture creators, they are much more reliant on offensive coordinators," Cowherd said. 

That's exemplified by the fact that Campbell is 36-15 with former offensive coordinator and current Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson and 11-21-1 without him. So, to keep the Lions' Super Bowl hopes high moving forward, Cowherd thinks they must find another elite offensive mind to replace Johnson. 

"Detroit was a crisp operation," Cowherd said. "More creative and innovative."

They lost that edge without Johnson, and 10 weeks into this season, Campbell opted to take over play-calling duties from Johnson's replacement, John Morton, with the hopes of rediscovering offensive dynamism. It worked against non-playoff teams, but in four games against teams currently headed for the postseason, the Lions went 0-4 with Campbell as the play-caller. 

To return to their previous level, the Lions must find another ceiling-raising offensive coordinator. One that can take care of that unit while Campbell focuses on the holistic culture of the organization. 

 "It's not all doom and gloom. I mean, you've really got an infrastructure and culture-creator," Cowherd said. "He is not a scheme guy. 

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