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After sacking head coach Matt Patricia after a 45-21 loss to the Houston Texans, the Detroit Lions had a head coach position to fill for Chris Spielman. Former broadcaster and brother of Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman was named Lions CEO and special assistant to the owner in the final weeks of the season and immediately had an important decision to make.
While Detroit probably could have gone with Michigan native and Lions fan Robert Saleh, they instead decided to hire New Orleans Saints assistant coach and former 0-16 Lions member Dan Campbell. .
While his introductory press conference was quite entertaining – he hinted at biting his opponents’ kneecaps – I was able to gather some thoughts on how Campbell might function as the head coach of this deprived franchise.
When you look at the tough physical type of player Chris Spielman was, it seems like he had a coach at Campbell that fits his football ideology perfectly.
During his opening press conference, Campbell explored what he wanted his football team to be:
“This team is going to be built on, uh, we’re going to kick you in the teeth. Good? “Campbell growled.” And when you push us away, we’re going to smile at you. And when you knock us out, we’re going to stand up. And on the way up, we’re going to bite a kneecap. Good? And we’re going to stand up, then we’ll have to get up. two more blows to knock us out. Okay? And on the way up, we’re going to take your other kneecap.
He’s made it clear that he doesn’t want to coach the Lions teams we are all used to seeing turn around after falling early. He has made it very clear that he expects this team to give the maximum to their opponents for 60 minutes in every game.
He further corroborated this statement by saying, “We are going to be competitive in every game.”
He suggested his Lions team “take on the identity of the city,” overcoming adversity like Detroit did.
After hearing that, I thought back to Detroit’s most iconic sports team, the Bad Boy Pistons, and how they leaned on the physique. They personified the city of the blue collar workers they represented, playing a rough basketball style that led them to success.
At his press conference, he spoke about the current state of the city and how they have been “kicked, bruised and beaten” in recent history, as have the Lions themselves.
Campbell spoke about how much he wanted the job and how much he loved the city, saying it was the best place he had been and how he wanted to give back to Lions fans. He said winning is his only mission and that he will preach “the principles of competition, identity and toughness”.
Watching the press conference, I couldn’t help but think of another downtrodden Midwestern franchise that brought in a new head coach who preached about cultural change. When the Cleveland Browns hired Kevin Stefanski, he also preached a shared collective vision. While he may not have shared the same tumultuous enthusiasm as his Lions counterpart, Stefanski shared how important the change was for a franchise that had not won a playoff game since 1994 and was last qualified for the playoffs in 2002.
While the Browns were in a much better position to compete straight away, given the talent they already had on the roster, I think hiring Campbell could mean the emergence of a new Lions team in the lineup. NFC North.
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