Dave Fipp never experienced symptoms during his bout with COVID-19, but the Detroit Lions special teams coordinator was sick to his stomach during one day of his quarantine — when he watched the Lions lose to the Philadelphia Eagles from afar in the only game he’s missed in his 14 NFL seasons.
“It was horrible,” Fipp said Thursday. “The hardest thing for me the whole time was really, I mean my health was good, I was thankful of that. But gameday was terrible. Watching it from afar was just a hard experience. I did not feel good that day.”
Fipp, who is vaccinated, tested negative for COVID the morning of the Lions’ 44-6 loss to the Eagles but was not able to coach from the sidelines due to the NFL’s COVID protocols.
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Vaccinated players and coaches must produce negative tests at least 24 hours apart before they can return.
The Lions played their worst game of the season against the Eagles, and Fipp’s special teams units had a mixed day.
Austin Seibert missed a 47-yard field goal on the Lions’ second possession, but Godwin Igwebuike had his most productive day as a kick returner and KhaDarel Hodge downed Jack Fox’s first punt at the 4-yard line.
Fipp handled special teams game-planning during the week. He led meetings and taught installations remotely, he watched video cut-ups of practice and spent time on the phone with Lions coach Dan Campbell talking strategy and game-specific situations.
Special teams assistant Jett Modkins handled the in-person teaching, and Fipp said Modkins and the rest of the unit “did a great job in the game, getting through” unusual circumstances.
“Once it went to game day, it was like, ‘OK, the plan is in place and we’re just going to — I guess I’m just going to watch it play out like every other fan does,'” Fipp said. “So it was kind of weird that way. But yeah, I was definitely nervous about it, ’cause you know that those guys are stuck there on gameday with the plan that was in place and if it’s not going well or you need to adjust something, you’re not there to do it.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.