Enjoyed this article. Thought some of you guys might as well.
More and more I believe the Lions got the right HC. Campbell was not at the top of my list, but he’s winning me over day by day. Obviously, this needs to be confirmed with results on the field, but with that judgement being held for a few years all I can measure right now is the kind of man he appears to be. I think he is who he appears to be. I think the players believe this as well, which is incredibly important. See here:
Enjoy:
Really great article, thank you!
Man, I hope he works as a coach. Because I love the mindset and approach…
I think Decker’s quote about the 3 percent body fat is a direct reference to the effectiveness of our previous head coach.
Listen, I am not in the ‘fat slobs can’t be head coaches’ camp. But people like Andy Reid, Bill Parcells, even Mike McCarthy to an extent… they weren’t always fat slobs. They just got old and stopped putting focus on their physical selves. But that is the thing about Patricia. I feel like he has always been a fat slob in his mindset. His only energy when he was a DC came from being a hairy ogre, not a leader of men.
Campbell’s energy is authentic. It doesn’t come from rage or disappointment. And it won’t go away, even if 30 years from now he is 100 lbs heavier with saggy man boobs. I just hope he is still coaching the Lions at that time.
Yeah - I don’t disagree.
There are a few references throughout the article coming from players that make it clear how important it is for them to believe in their coach.
I think that’s true for all of us. Even off the football field.
We’ve all had bosses at our day jobs. Which ones were the ones we appreciated and respected the most? Which ones were the ones we’d show up to work for and put in a solid effort day after day for?
It was the ones more similar to Dan Campbell than Matt Patricia.
It’s hard to put a specific label on what great leadership is. I think it comes in many forms. It’s a “you know it when you see it” kind of thing.
I feel like we are seeing it here in Detroit with this staff right now.
Good god, I’m in love with that Decker comment “Just be the Detroit Lions and we’re gonna go out there and hit people in the mouth”. Build that culture, first and foremost, as a team with an identity of being a bunch of bad asses that are hard to play against.
I usually couldn’t care less for offseason fluff and big talk but at the very least, they’re saying the right things. It’ll likely be a bad team that loses a lot of games but if they’re putting bruises on the opponents and are a better team to close the season than they were to open it, that’ll be a success.
Awesome article thank you for posting it!! Love it!
And I’m glad Decker got a couple F bombs in as well!
Dan Campbell might lose but he will lose the Dan Campbell way at least there’s that. The spitting when you talk? That’s Bill Cowheresque so that has a good precedent.
Everyone knows Campbell has a long leash and only has to show incremental elevation from the basement floor to stick around. But can he win? There doesn’t seem to be many position battles going to the Lions on either side of the ball and the culture of losing is a heavy overcast to break through. And I think the losing will wear out this guy much faster because he doesn’t seem capable of being nor wants to be detached.
BUT like I said if all it takes is some advantage somewhere and leveraging it into unlikely wins and then the hunger factor will kick in. Winning can be viral even for teams coming from the bottom of the shitpile. The last preseason game was a huge improvement in effort and execution and that’s a nod to coaching so maybe there is competence in that staff to go along with DC’s intensity.
I did like the bit about using the office chairs to show the nine hand positions of death blocking technique. Hope he is going all Miyagi style at this very moment on grasshopper Penei and telling him he has to cut him if he has another bad game. Even Parcells wouldn’t have the balls to tell that to a #1 draft pick.
I do think his greatest challenge is overcoming the miserable gray cloud that is the Detroit media + fan base.
Not blaming them after years of suffering, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are insufferable.
Previous regimes all failed. We’ll see how this one handles the negativity.
Just got done reading this, as was going to bring it to the board. Probably the best read on Campbell I’ve seen yet.
It may not work here, but the guy has some qualities that a coach who wins Lombardi trophies has.
Quick comment, Andy Reid has always been huge. There is an old video of him doing a kick/pass/punt event as a kid and he was bigger than everyone.
Not that it matters any.
Dan Campbell was not my first or second choice. In fact, he wasn’t even on my radar at first. My expectations are about as high for him as they were for anyone outside of MP.
Unlike MP, I’m willing to give him a chance and the benefit of the doubt.
I’m Lionized. I won’t be pumped about any staff until they win.
Ok - I’m going to compare him finally!!
I feel he reminds me of Dick Vermile
Emotionally and dedicated!
All his teams started slow and with in 2-3 yrs were in the playoffs
But he also retired from burn out as he would work day upon end to figure out how to win and the players loved him the same we we are seeing our players respond to DC
I hope he find the same success and more here!!
I like the body fat dig at Patty lol
I don’t think being fat, per se, means you lack discipline or can’t inspire anything like that.
Buddy Ryan, Andy Reid, John Madden, Parcells, yadda yadda, lots of big coaches.
HOWEVER, if you’re fat, slovenly, hypocritical, arrogant, rude, scooter riding asshole who can’t coach for shit…it’s gonna get more attention.
Even though, again we have exageration. 3% body fat? For a 230 - 250 lb guy? Nope. Even Olympic class marathoners are usually above that. Just say 5% and try for credibility. And yes it doesn’t matter.
Well sure, but under 50% is nice…
You can be skinny and anorexic as well, and those last adjectives will still do you in. Especially that whole coaching thing. Kinda important if you are going to, I don’t know, coach?
Yeah, but being a fat mess just sort of screams “fine for me but nor for thee!”.
Which is going to piss players off.
Same with the goddamn scooter. Players are told to get surgery early in the off season so you can come back.
Big Boy waited so long he had to ride a freaking rascal around the sidelines and coach from a booth.
All this is grand, but it’s noise and joke fodder if winning doesn’t follow pretty soon.
The “we’re going to be tougher than the other guys” schtick gets old if you’re getting your ass whipped every week.
True.
But, by “pretty soon”, I hope you mean 2-3 years because this year isn’t happening lol.
Detroit Lions fans should avoid perpetuating our own demise…especially when there are reasons to be optimistic.
For example: “Quick! Make sure the news guys know they are losers just like the previous ones!”
That’s not useful or fair after 1 year of rebuilding. It simply takes longer than that.
