Lions’ Dan Campbell has become the coach he always set out to be

DETROIT — The introduction-heard-’round-the-football-world is now three and a half years old. And for a time, was the lasting image of Dan Campbell.

In the early years, you couldn’t see the Detroit Lions receive a national mention without a knee-cap reference, often said in jest. That infamous presser was Campbell’s attempt at speaking directly to this city and its fanbase. This was a job he pounded a table for, quite literally in his initial interview with the team.

His viral, impassioned speech was uttered in an empty broadcast studio to reporters he could only see on a TV screen — conducted over Zoom with in-person access limited at the time. That didn’t change a thing.

This was his way of re-introducing himself — having played for this franchise during its 0-16 season — promising folks things would be different. However, his unapologetic desire to establish a winning brand of football unbeknownst to Detroit didn’t land the same outside of Michigan.

And so, Campbell became a caricature. Typecast as a meathead in over his head. A man on borrowed time. Many had made up their mind before he’d even coached a game.

“We’re gonna kick you in the teeth, and when you punch us back, we’re going to smile at you. And when you knock us down, we’re gonna get up. And on the way up, we’re going to bite a kneecap off.”

New @Lions HC Dan Campbell had quite the introductory press conference 😳 pic.twitter.com/cWJTSFtJAQ

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 21, 2021

You best believe he’s kept every receipt.

“I’ve got a whole ton of those, but it’s not time to pull those out yet,” Campbell said in January, three years after that press conference and a few days removed from leading the Lions to their first playoff victory in 32 years. “There will be a time and place for that.”

There were signs that Campbell would one day be here — spending his weekends with a headset on, instilling the lessons learned from a life dedicated to this sport, leading a franchise to places it always hoped to go. But only if you paid attention. And only if you really knew Campbell.

A football lifer from the Texas country — somewhere between Morgan and Walnut Springs — Campbell grew up on a farm and learned an intense work ethic from his father. He was the best athlete in his area and the type of guy who’d extend a hand after trucking you into next week. That latter is what’s gotten him this far.

Some years ago, Campbell arrived on campus at Texas A&M as a lanky tight end with the naivety of a small-towner with big dreams. The outside world was new to him but football wasn’t. It was all he’d ever known, and his plan was simple: outwork everyone in his orbit. It wasn’t forced. It wasn’t for show. You couldn’t help but notice him. His authenticity won everyone over — from his playing days to his coaching career.

It’s why, in some ways, Campbell is exactly who people think he is. And so much more than meets the eye.

Campbell’s superpower in this league — what many of his players and assistants say sets him apart — is his innate ability to tap into the mind of a player. Those who’ve been around Campbell say his attention to detail and recollection of his experiences has served as a guiding principle, and feels different than your typical former player-turned-coach.

It’s the reason behind every decision he makes, and each one he doesn’t.

In 2001, Campbell was a young pup on a New York Giants team with Super Bowl aspirations. After losing to the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XXV, the Giants waltzed into a brand new season expecting to get back to the biggest stage.

But Campbell, even then, had reservations about what he was seeing. He’d notice his teammates were excited about leaving the facility early. They would applaud lighter days in training camp. This was not how he operated. They believed they were a finished product. They were, in fact, far from it.

Those Giants finished 7-9 that year, missing the playoffs. It was a rude awakening for the team. And an eye-opener for Campbell.

“I will never forget that. Ever,” Campbell said on the first day of 2024 training camp, discussing a fate that keeps him up at night when he thinks about the Lions team he now coaches. “We’re not going to lose our identity. That is the most important thing to me, and I won’t sacrifice it for anyone or anything.”

Dan Campbell was pushing players to do better when he was still one himself. (Otto Greule Jr / Getty Images)

Campbell takes these experiences everywhere he goes. Playing for a Cowboys coaching staff that featured two of his mentors — Bill Parcells and Sean Payton — Campbell was often tasked with setting the tone. All it’d take was a look or nod from Payton after a low-effort practice for Campbell to spring into action and set the locker room straight. As a player, Campbell was a force multiplier in terms of influence and approach. A coach’s dream, which is probably why he became one himself.

Before Detroit, there was Miami. A 1-3 start to the 2015 season was the final act of Joe Philbin’s stint as Dolphins head coach. To replace him, they made a 39-year-old Campbell, the tight ends coach, their interim head coach.

In Miami, Campbell faced many of the narratives he’d later face in the early years of his Detroit tenure. But what’s proved to be true in Detroit proved true back then. Campbell got to know his players on a personal level. He got them to buy in.

“I can remember him bringing me up to his office and him acknowledging my knowledge and him acknowledging my leadership ability,” said Kelvin Sheppard, a linebacker on that Dolphins team, and Campbell’s linebackers coach in Detroit. “I kind of attached to Dan as someone that cared about me more than just a football player.”

Terrell Williams, widely regarded as one of the best defensive line coaches in the NFL, was on that Dolphins staff with Campbell. Campbell’s approach to coaching and authenticity with his players was evident back then. Williams saw it firsthand.

It’s why he accepted an offer to join Campbell’s coaching staff in Detroit this offseason.

“He wasn’t trying to be someone else,” Williams said. “I think that we can all learn that lesson. Don’t try to be Sean Payton or Bill Parcels. You can take ideas, but his personality — he just coached the way his personality is: tough, but fair. …I remind these coaches, some of the younger guys, be thankful for who you’ve got as a head coach. In my 14th year, I’ve worked for a lot of different head coaches. Dan’s A-plus, in my opinion.”

This was something HBO’s “Hard Knocks” captured ahead of the 2022 season. That was Campbell’s second in Detroit, and the one that would change everything.

On a humid August morning, the Lions were in full pads, going live to prepare for the season. It was a long day. A full two-hour practice in which Campbell pushed his players with a purpose.

Campbell had studied data that suggested volume and intensity were necessary heading into a season.

He saw some players roll their eyes. Tune him out. He knew a conversation was needed. One built on trust.

Dan Campbell made this speech on #HardKnocks in 2022.

You can see exactly how he prepared the @Lions for greatness. (via @NFLFilms) pic.twitter.com/DjKGKZzNy1

— NFL (@NFL) January 23, 2024

“We all respect him because he tells us how it is,” Lions QB Jared Goff said of Campbell. “He’s sat in our seats before and understands on Day 15 of training camp that we’re tired and it’s hard and we know he gets it, but at the same time, he’s going to push us. And when a guy that knows it is still pushing you, you kind of trust that a bit more.”

Trust goes a long way with Campbell. His trust in Goff is what helped revive a career many thought was dead on arrival in Detroit.

His confidence shattered following the trade, it was the little things Campbell said and did, and his coaching staff that reinforced their belief that Goff was no bridge. They supported him publicly and privately, every step of the way. The last two seasons, Goff threw for north of 9,000 yards and nearly 60 touchdowns. And this offseason, he signed a $212 million contract.

“I think the number one thing that I think about with him is his emotional intelligence,” Goff said of Campbell. “How well he can read the room and know people — and that’s maybe characteristic number one of being a leader and why he is so good at that. But he knows when to push, when to pull, when to tell you he needs a little bit more from you, when to love you up. He’s got such a great feel for all that, which is why he’s so special.”

Trust is why star offensive coordinator Ben Johnson remains in Detroit — longer than most believed. And while Campbell is a coach who wants his assistants to get every possible opportunity they desire, Johnson is in no rush, in large part because of his boss.

On the flight home to Detroit following the Lions’ crushing playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers in January, Johnson’s mind returned to the early years. More specifically, an analogy made by Campbell. The Lions were “taking their medicine,” early on in 2022. They were competitive in games, but not enough to avoid a 1-6 start. In a team meeting, Campbell told his players and coaches they were in the Arctic. Weathering a storm. Hitting icebergs. “The dark days,” Johnson calls it.

He also told them things would be different if they stuck with him. The Lions would go on to win eight of their final 10 games that season. They haven’t lost two in a row since.

“He had the foresight, he had the vision of where we were going and where we were heading,” Johnson recalled in May. “He assured us, ‘Guys, I see it. I see where we are going. The results haven’t been there yet, but the Caribbean is on the horizon. It’s coming up.’”

Fast forward to Jan. 29, 2024. Mind racing, set to interview with a Washington Commanders’ brass flying into Detroit in 24 hours, that lasting memory is what caused Johnson to pause his potential future. It resonated with Johnson — once at a crossroads in his career. His future wasn’t always as clear-cut as it is now. When Johnson joined the Lions’ staff as an offensive quality control coach under Matt Patricia in 2019, he agreed to do so for an annual salary of $40,000. When Patricia was fired, Johnson, too, could’ve been out of a job, wondering what was next.

Ben Johnson has remained a loyal assistant to Dan Campbell even with head coaching interest from other NFL teams. (Junfu Han / USA Today)

But Campbell’s first move was retaining Johnson — a coach he’d known from their time together with the Dolphins. They worked to re-invent Detroit’s offense in the second half of the 2021 season. Campbell promoted Johnson to offensive coordinator the following year when he was still relatively unknown. Along the way, Campbell deferred praise to Johnson — despite his fingerprints and influences contributing to Detroit’s offensive success — and has openly supported his OC when opportunities to lead his own franchise would arise.

Johnson’s been given many in recent years. But as he determined on that plane ride home, none like the one he has now.

“I’m sitting on the plane, I’m thinking back to that,” Johnson said. “Just the story of my career has been living in that Arctic for a lot of it. That was the second time I had been to the playoffs, the first time I had experienced winning games in the playoffs. I think when it boils down to it, I wanted the sunshine a little bit longer. That’s really what it comes down to for me. I liked the sunshine.”

As much as trust has elevated this Lions’ franchise, it often doubles as fuel for Campbell’s biggest critics.

Since taking over in 2021, the Detroit Lions lead the NFL in go-for-it rate at 31.9 percent, per TruMedia. It’s well above the league average of 19.8 percent. Campbell’s aggressiveness has led to a league-leading 37.8 expected points added for the Lions in that span — regular season and playoffs. If you’ve watched Campbell’s Lions over the years, you know that this offense often calls for a play that’s only designed to pick up five yards on third-and-8 near midfield. It’s because they’re setting up the inevitable fourth-and-short attempt. Rather than staying on schedule, they’re staying ahead of it.

There are, of course, situations that warrant a closer look. In the NFC Championship Game this past January, the Lions failed to convert a pair of crucial fourth-down attempts. Each time, Campbell had a choice between a field goal or keeping his offense on the field. He chose the latter. Detroit would go on to lose by 3.

Given the nickname “Dan Gamble” whenever these conversions aren’t picked up, Campbell doesn’t see it that way. Neither do his players.

Prior to the NFC Championship Game, Detroit’s offense had converted 17-of-20 attempts on fourth-and-3 or less in plus territory last season — a conversion rate of 85 percent. Detroit’s kicker at the time, Michael Badgley, was 4-of-11 in his career on outdoor kicks from 46-49 yards out — the range of the two would-be field goal attempts, had the Lions sent him out.

Campbell had faith in an offensive line, a quarterback and an offense viewed as one of the best in the league to convert, like they had so often before. The plays were there to be made. The trust was there. It was part of their identity, and he wasn’t going to sacrifice it.

About a week after the game, Lions linebacker and captain Alex Anzalone penned a letter to Detroit via The Player’s Tribune. In it, he discussed the fallout from the loss, the pain of losing and where his mind was at.

“If you have been following this team’s journey for the last three years, then you know how we play football,” Anzalone wrote. “You know the mentality that got us here. It was the right decision — and I’m not talking about the right decision for analytics or talk radio or whatever. It was the right call for us, especially in that moment. I feel like if you shy away from your identity in that moment, then you’re betraying the very thing that got you there.

“When the chips are down, Detroit is always going to bet on Detroit.”

This, at its core, is the environment Campbell’s built in this city. And these Lions believe they’re just getting started.

After the success of last season, Campbell’s become a larger-than-life figure. In more ways than one.

In the town of Webberville, Mich. — located roughly 70 miles west of Detroit — a massive image of Campbell’s face, surrounded by a lion’s mane, appeared on a corn maze at Choice Farm Market back in July. An odd sight, but par for the course in the state these days.

Hey @Lions fans! This tribute to Coach Campbell at Choice Farm Market in Webberville MI. Enjoy our work this fall and support this local family farm. pic.twitter.com/2TrWceENHV

— Precision Mazes (@precisionmazes) July 20, 2024

This offseason, after some reluctance and a nudge from his wife and daughter, Campbell agreed to participate in a series of Applebee’s commercials. In them, he plays into the caricature many believed him to be when he first arrived in Detroit. Some of them debuted this week on social media. Campbell returned from practice Tuesday afternoon to a flood of text messages. He thought a relative died. Instead, after a quick parse through the messages, he noticed a common theme — friends and family putting in their order for boneless wings via text, after seeing his comedic acting chops.

“Unfortunately,” Campbell said of the commercials, “There’s more to come.”

No trick plays here—the move is 50¢ boneless wings at Applebee’s pic.twitter.com/Pqe5Gyr1UN

— Applebee’s Grill + Bar (@Applebees) September 4, 2024

Commercials and corn mazes were never part of the plan, but they do come with the territory. Campbell’s made a winner out of a loser. He has the Detroit Lions positioned where they’ve rarely been ahead of a season — a trendy pick to win it all.

As the face of a franchise that’s new to meaningful expectations, Campbell hasn’t shied away from them.

“I don’t see bust,” he said, when asked if this was a Super Bowl-or-bust season. “I see Super Bowl.”

Those words come not from a place of arrogance, but one of confidence. He believes this because his Lions have become everything he said they would on Jan. 20, 2021. They’re physical. They don’t go down without a fight. They’ve taken on the identity of the city they reside in. And now, they’re contenders.

There’s a time and a place for everything. Campbell knows this. It’s why he prefers to keep those receipts tucked away, until the moment he and his team have earned the right to revisit them. Until then, it’s all business, ahead of arguably the most anticipated season in franchise history.

Campbell often brushes off the perception that’s out there of him. He is who he is, after all, and it’s gotten him this far in life.

But this version of Campbell we’re seeing now — a few years into this, with proof of concept by his side — is the fully realized coach those who really know him always felt he could become.

And the coach that Campbell himself set out to be.

“If you knew Dan, you knew it would eventually happen,” Williams said. “I know a lot of people want immediate results, but sometimes when you’re building, you’re building from the ground up, and that takes time. Some people know him from commercials or just hearing about what he is. It’s funny, you hear all these stories and it’s like, ‘OK, I (actually) know the guy.’ You knew it was only a matter of time before he was going to get his imprint on this football team and build it, and now, here we are.”

(Top photo: Ed Mulholland / Getty Images)