Getty Former Dolphins front office member Mike Tannenbaum during the Super Bowl.
The Detroit Lions are expected to make their hire of Dan Campbell official in the coming days, and when the moves happens, the team will be getting the kind of leader that could connect in a big way.
Already, Campbell has been getting love from former players and teammates for his ability to motivate. While that is notable enough, it’s possibly more notable that Campbell is getting the same type of love from a high-level former NFL executive.
According to Mike Tannenbaum, who worked with Campbell in Miami, the coach might be under-the-radar now, but he is a strong hire in terms of being able to create and sustain a winning culture. That was something Tannenbaum noticed when he hired Campbell to be the interim coach for the Dolphins in 2015.
Campbell, of course, didn’t end up getting the Miami job that went to Adam Gase the next offseason, but he managed to make a smart career move in working with the New Orleans Saints and Sean Payton. The experience he gained there helped him become even more desirable as a head coach, which is how he eventually ended up in Detroit.
It’s possible all the seasoning could help Campbell know exactly what he needs to do to take the Lions to the next level.
Former Teammates, Players Praise Dan Campbell
It’s clear that some of the players who know Campbell best are already going to bat for him as a great coach given his ability to lead and motivate.
A couple of folks reached out to players who know Campbell well, and the answer they received was positive in terms of his ability to connect with players. As former Lions lineman T.J. Lang found out, players that are working with Campbell in New Orleans feel very strongly about him.
Like a lot of @Lions fans, I’m not too familiar with Dan Campbell. I did ask a few buddies that played with the Saints past few years and couple quotes I got were “awesome leader, great coach. Detroit would love him”. So there’s that.
Similarly, Matt Dery spoke with a player from the 2015 Dolphins, a team that Campbell took over in an interim role after the firing of Joe Philbin and led to a respectable 5-7 record considering the circumstances. As that player said, all the Miami players from that time would run through a wall for Campbell.
It’s pretty clear that while Campbell might not be a household name to many around the league, those who do know him or have worked with him hold him in very high esteem. With that in mind, it’s not hard to see how he could have impressed the Lions in interviews enough to be favored for the job.
Culture Dan Campbell’s Biggest Challenge With Lions
The hope is that both Tannenbaum and the former players who know him best are right. The Lions not only need someone who is capable of surrounding themselves with good fellow coaches, but someone who can take command of the team and set a culture in Detroit. That was sorely lacking under Matt Patricia, and it seems culture was a huge reason for the team’s dip under Patricia after the firing of Jim Caldwell. From the first day he’s on the job, Campbell is going to have to work on creating a rock solid bond with his players and staff, and let everything else take shape after that.
If Campbell truly is the best culture choice on the market, it makes sense why the Lions would hire him to take over at this point in time.
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