Getty Dan Campbell celebrates with Dolphins player Earl Mitchell in 2015.
The Detroit Lions have reportedly identified Dan Campbell as their next head coach, and while Campbell or the team can’t say anything officially until the New Orleans Saints’ playoff run is complete, that hasn’t stopped other reactions from pouring in.
Already, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky praised the possible hire because of Campbell’s ability to connect with players and also build an elite staff. 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.
What Dan Campbell Needs to Succeed With Lions
Obviously, communication will be key for Campbell as he comes to Detroit considering what went wrong with Matt Patricia. The last staff did not earn the trust of the players, and Campbell will have to work on that from day one when he comes into the mix for the Lions. The players will not care what Campbell knows until they know he cares, so the relationships he creates will be very important to lay the foundation for his regime.
The words of players who played for Campbell paint the picture of a guy who can connect and be the type of leader the team and the city need for the Lions. That’s the big hope at this stage of the game, because leadership is a must at this point considering what happened before.
Dan Campbell’s Career Stats
Campbell, a four-year letter winner at Texas A&M, started his NFL playing career with the New York Giants as a third-round pick in 1999, where the journeyman tight end stayed until 2002. From 2003-2005, he played for the division rival Dallas Cowboys before signing with the Lions in 2006. After three seasons in Detroit, Campbell finished his career in New Orleans in 2009, helping the Saints win Super Bowl XLIV.
Following that, he retired and broke into the coaching ranks the Miami Dolphins as a coaching intern in 2010. The following season, he was promoted to the team’s tight end coach, where he served from 2011-2015, later taking over as the team’s interim coach after the firing of Joe Philbin. He led Miami to a respectable 5-7 record after taking over a bad situation. In 2016, he re-joined New Orleans, where he’s worked under future Hall of Fame head coach Sean Payton ever since.
As a player, Campbell was solid, hauling in 91 passes for 934 yards and 11 touchdowns in his decade-long career, including 330 yards and four touchdowns across 19 games in Detroit. Last with the Lions in 2008, he would know all about the situation he was walking into if he became the team’s head coach.
If the words of these players mean anything, he could be just the kind of leader the Lions need at the right time.