Getty Barry Sanders before a Lions game in 2016.
The Detroit Lions had a winning team when Barry Sanders was running the ball even if they never won the big game, and as an alumni of the team, Sanders wants to see things get turned around as much as the fans.
Through the years, the Lions have been the team that simply can’t get things right. They have tried time and again to field a winner to compete with the other pro teams in town, but simply haven’t gotten over the hump for one reason or another. With a new staff, however, it could be time for that to change.
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While playing at the Rocket Mortgage Classic Pro-Am in Detroit, Sanders stopped and chatted with ESPN’s Eric Woodyard about what his message to Dan Campbell would be ahead of the new season. As he said, the opportunity exists to turn Lions football around from what it has been to something entirely different and reinvigorate the city along the way as well.
.@Lions great Barry Sanders to Dan Campbell, new regime on rebuilding franchise: “There’s been hockey championships, baseball championships, basketball championships, but Detroit is definitely a football town… absolutely. And there’s a thirst and a hunger to win.”
He said:
“It’s a great opportunity for the new regime. So many great sports moments have happened here in Detroit. There’s been hockey championships, baseball championships, basketball championships but Detroit is definitely a football town, absolutely. There’s a thirst and a hunger to win and hopefully they’re the guys who can get it done. I know the town is excited and we know the work is cut out for them. If it was easy, everyone would do it. But hopefully, they’re the guys.”
Lions fans hope that for Campbell and company as well, and it will be interesting to see if it pays off in time with the level of success that everyone hopes. It may not be instantaneous, but there is enough positives with Campbell to think that the Lions could be on the right track soon.
Campbell Showed Understanding of Lions Job
Even though folks around Detroit see the promise in Campbell, the national media has been full of shots early in his tenure. As a result, the only way the coach is going to make a believer out of these people is to win, and the good news is Campbell might understand better than anyone how to get that done.
Recently, Campbell was asked about how he’s been preparing to become a head coach in the league. What he offered was perhaps the most insightful response to a question that he has had since becoming a boss in the league. As he explained, it’s due to experiences and surrounding himself with the right lifelines.
“I don’t have all the answers. I’m not going to tell you that. But I know, and I’m very comfortable in my own ability and those around me, and I know what it takes to win.”
He said:
“You’re only as good as the people around you, and that’s why I hired Anthony Lynn, Duce Staley, Dave Fipp, Dom Capers amongst others. You ask for help, you ask for guidance. You call coach (Bill) Parcells, you talk to Sean Payton, one of my best resources. So, you ask. It’s not as if there are things that have popped up that I haven’t asked about. There are so many things you write down once you’re thinking about this role that I feel like have been answered somewhat to this point. When you’re fortunate enough to know enough resources like I do to be around enough great coaches, these things do pop up and they’ve been through them so you think about asking them. Dos that mean I am not going to hit something that I have not seen may not have seen or won’t be ready for? No, It’ll happen. But I think you draw of those experiences of those around you and those men you trust. That is step one. Step two is you continue to grow. I don’t have all the answers, I’m not going to tell you that. But I know and am very comfortable in my own ability and those around me and I know what it takes to win. I do. But that doesn’t mean I am going to stop growing and working and learning. You just got to continue to grow and put yourself in those situations.”
As insightful takes go, this one might take the cake for the coach. To hear that Campbell understands his new job this well already is intriguing. Matt Patricia often explained that the first year of coaching in the league is like drinking out of a firehose, but Campbell seems to have things under much better control.
It could prove to serve him well as he begins his career as a head coach.
Lions Playoff History
Campbell isn’t just facing recent demons, he’s facing down historical ones as well in terms of his ability to get over the hump and finally make the Lions a winning franchise. The Lions have been one of the more miserable teams historically when it comes to the playoffs. Detroit, as the tweet points out, hasn’t won since 1991. It’s not just 1991, however. Prior to that win, the Lions hadn’t won a playoff game since 1957. They had lost three times combined in the 1970s and 1980s. They’ve had plenty of misfortune in the playoffs as well, losing games in heartbreaking fashion and blowout fashion as well.
Detroit last appeared in the playoffs in 2018, but quickly bowed out, losing to the Seattle Seahawks in close fashion. They haven’t been consistent enough through the years at both making the playoffs and also winning when they do manage to get there.
It’s Campbell’s job to fix that, and as Sanders knows, if he can, he’ll be the toast of the town in the Motor City for decades.