After firing coach Matt Patricia after a 45-21 loss to the Houston Texans, the Detroit Lions had a head coach spot for Chris Spielman to fill. Former Minnesota Vikings announcer and GM brother Rick Spielman was named Lions CEO and special assistant to the owner in the final weeks of the season and immediately had to make a meaningful decision.
While Detroit probably could have chosen Robert Saleh, a Michigan native and someone who grew up a fan of Lions, they decided to hire New Orleans Saints assistant coach and former member of the infamous 0-16 Lions, Dan Campbell.
Although his introductory press conference was a lot of fun – he alluded to biting opponents’ kneecaps – I was able to gather some ideas on how Campbell could function as the head coach of this deprived franchise.
When looking at the kind of tough physical player Chris Spielman was, it looks like he has a coach at Campbell who matches his footballing ideology perfectly.
At his opening press conference, Campbell investigated what he wanted his football team to be:
“This team is going to be built on, uh, let’s kick your teeth. How’s it going? “Campbell snarled.” And when you punch us back, we’ll smile at you. And when you knock us over, we’ll get up. And on the way up, we’re going to rip out a kneecap. Okay? we’re going to get up, and then it’s going to take two more shots to get us down. Okay?
He made it clear that he does not want to coach the Lions teams that we are used to seeing just roll after falling early. He made it very clear that he expects this team to do its best for the opponent for 60 minutes in every game.
He further corroborated this statement by saying: “We will be competitive in every game”.
He suggested that his Lions team “assume the identity of the city”, overcoming adversities like Detroit.
After hearing that, I thought about Detroit’s most iconic sports team, the Bad Boy Pistons, and how they depended on physicality. They personified the working-class city they represented, playing a bold basketball style that led them to success.
In his press conference, he referred to the current state of the city and how they were “kicked, bruised and beaten” in recent history, as well as the Lions themselves.
Campbell talked about how much he wanted this job and how much he loved the city, saying it is the best place he has ever been and how he wants to give back to Lions fans. He stated that winning is his only mission and he will be preaching “principles of competition, identity and resistance”.
While watching the press conference, I couldn’t help thinking of another oppressed midwestern franchise that brought in a new coach who preached about cultural change. When the Cleveland Browns hired Kevin Stefanski, he also preached a shared collective vision. Although he may not have shared the same noisy enthusiasm as his Lions counterpart, Stefanski shared how the significant change was for a franchise that has not won a playoff game since 1994 and last qualified for the postseason in 2002.
Although the Browns were in a much better position to compete immediately, given the talent they already had on the list, I think the hiring of Campbell could mean a new Lions team emerging from NFC North.