Dan Campbell on Texas A&M speculation: 'I want to do anything I can to help them, but coach'

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell has seen his name thrown out for the open Texas A&M gig, but he’s not ready to leave the NFL just yet.

The Aggies are close to Campbell’s heart and would make it more than worth his while, and smoke began to rise when FOX Sports’ Bruce Feldman speculated the Lions leader would be the perfect fit for Texas A&M.

“The 47-year-old Texas native played at A&M. Campbell epitomizes everything we suspect the school would want in a head coach,” Feldman wrote. “And if you’ve watched any clips of him in front of his team, you’ll see why. He has jumped into what was an abysmal franchise and has that city thinking there’s finally a Super Bowl in its future.”

Would Campbell be a home run hire for Texas A&M? Sure. But don’t expect it to happen anytime soon, as Campbell doused some water on the fire on Friday.

“Maybe. But that’s all good,” Campbell said, regarding Texas A&M reaching out, via Kyle Meinke of MLive. “Certainly I know some people there and I love my school. … I want to do anything I can to help them, but coach.”

Alas, any hint of Campbell leaving would startle Lions fans around the nation. The 47-year-old Texan is a football godsend to Detroit. The Lions are 7-2, with a game Sunday against the Bears.

Campbell’s Lions are making a case that they may be the top team in the NFC, if not the NFL. The Eagles, who reached last season’s Super Bowl, sport the same record.

Meanwhile, the Aggies could offer Campbell a chance to come home and cash a hefty paycheck, but the timing certainly isn’t right. While it’s unclear how much the Aggies are willing to pay their next head coach, Jimbo Fisher was set to make $9.15 million, plus incentives, this season.

He also had the largest buyout of any college coach in history. A&M owes him about $77 million in guaranteed money that the school must pay Fisher through 2031.

Maybe Texas A&M looks elsewhere as it pertains to the NFL level, as Campbell isn’t the only Aggie in the NFL head coaching ranks.

Dennis Allen of the Saints played safety for A&M in the 1990s and even helped the Aggies secure a win over the Texas Longhorns with a late interception. Then there’s Zac Taylor, who is head coach of the Bengals.

For any of those coaches, it’d have to be an all-time opportunity to leave their current gig. Nevertheless, it won’t be Dan Campbell. He’s good with the Lions at the moment.

On3’s Suzanne Hailburton contributed to this article.