Getty Dan Campbell coaching during a game.
Finding anyone in love with the Detroit Lions’ hire of Dan Campbell is a tough proposition, but as the spring has turned to summer, many in the media are beginning to come around on the idea of the coach.
Such is the case with CBS Sports insider Jason La Canfora. The analyst recently put together a look at ranking every single new coaching hire in the league. While Campbell wasn’t in the top spot, he wasn’t in the last spot on the list, either. Campbell placed fourth-overall, just behind the likes of Brandon Staley, Urban Meyer and Nick Siriani. Campbell ranked ahead of Arthur Smith, Robert Saleh and David Culley.
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As for why Campbell placed in the fourth spot, La Canfora admitted it wasn’t exactly due to virtue but rather due to some of the other hires that were perhaps botched around him by more dysfunctional organizations.
He wrote:
“He and the rookie GM got a long-term deal, and another member of the Ford family is now in charge which probably buys them three years unless things go off a cliff. Ownership seems to understand that it is actually in a rebuild, which to me makes it a notch up from a few of these other gigs, where teams are pretending to be something they are not. It’s going to be a long climb out of the mess of the former regime – there were constant issues between the staff and the locker room, and the roster is bleak. Oh, and the nebulous roles of guys like Rod Wood would make me very nervous, and Chris Spielman has no real experience as a team president. Yeah, most of these franchises have been a horror show for good reason, and we’re grading on a curve here, but I guess I’ll slot this here.”
Obviously, it’s a lukewarm endorsement of Campbell, but it’s noteworthy nonetheless. La Canfora may be reading too much into the roles of Rod Wood and Chris Spielman, as neither will determine whether Campbell or even Brad Holmes succeeds or fails. Both will be allowed leeway to make things happen and chart their own course.
The whole situation will be sorted out on the field, so only time will tell how things play out in the end.
Campbell Has Showed Awareness for Lions Job
In spite of the media coverage the coach has received, it’s become clear that there is a whole other side to Campbell that some folks don’t want to acknowledge exists at all. 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.
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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 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.
Lions Culture Looking Better Under Campbell
It isn’t a stretch to proclaim the team much better off now than under Matt Patricia. Brad Holmes has come in and been a solid influence already, and Dan Campbell has shown to be the kind of leader that can galvanize young players and veteran players alike. Already, the team’s older players have taken a liking to the culture he is trying to build, and it’s not a stretch to say the young guys the team has drafted will fit the team like a glove. The front office is trying to bring Calvin Johnson back into the fold and keep their former players happy, so from top to bottom, it seems the franchise is simply in a better place than it was just less than a year ago.
Obviously, there’s a long way to go before the culture can be proclaimed to be completely fixed, but the Lions are certainly off to arguably their best start ever at getting things right.
Many are finally starting to realize why that’s the case.
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