Throughout their franchise’s history, Lions fans have become accustomed to heartbreak, for example, when Dan Orlovsky stepped out of the back of the endzone for a safety, or when the greatest running back and one of the greatest wide receivers of all time both retired in their prime without ever seeing a Super Bowl. In 2008, the Lions even lost 16 games in a season, becoming the first team in NFL history to go winless in the 16-game era. Until this year, the Lions had only won one playoff game in the Super Bowl era. But under head coach Dan Campbell, the Lions have tripled that total.
On his first day in charge, Campbell made it clear that he wasn’t a typical head coach; instead, he was more concerned with building a culture for the Lions. “I can sit up here and give you coach speak all day long,” Campbell said. “You’ve had enough of that shit … this team’s going to be built on, we’re going to kick you in the teeth … and when you knock us down, we’re going to get up, and on the way up, we’re going to bite a knee cap off … we’re going to be the last one standing. That’s going to be the mentality.”
In the 2021 season, the Lions were eliminated a few hours before their final game. Despite having nothing to play for that night at Lambeau Field, they beat their division rivals to eliminate them too, cementing the mentality Campbell described on his first day. Running back Jamal Williams said it best post-game: “We the Detroit Lions. Stop playing with us. … Don’t let these tears fool you. It’s all dog around this mug.”
This energy continued into this year. After a 12-5 season with wins over the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs at Kansas City and a division sweep over the reigning division champion Vikings, the Lions won their first division title since 1991 and earned the NFC’s no. 3 seed. They went on to beat former Lions quarterback Matt Stafford and the Rams in the wild-card game and then beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the divisional round. The Lions fans adopted the new Lions identity too, becoming the fourth loudest stadium in NFL history against the Rams before moving up to third against Tampa Bay.
Campbell joined the league as a player in 1999 as a third-round pick for the Giants before moving to Dallas in 2003. After leaving the Cowboys, the tight end signed with the Lions in 2006. After a promising first season, he missed a significant amount of time in 2007 with an elbow injury. Campbell returned for 2008 but suffered a hamstring injury that placed him on injured reserve (IR). After sitting for the embarrassing 2008 season, Campbell was released by Detroit and joined the Saints, where he spent the entire year on IR. The Saints went on to win the Super Bowl, and Campbell was not granted a ring. Campbell’s injury-ridden last three seasons forced him to retire, ending a disappointing career.
Despite his many injuries, Campbell was known for his toughness, grit, and tenacity as a blocker. This play style was reflected in his mentality after retiring, as he refused to quit football, becoming a coaching intern for Miami in 2010. He was promoted to tight ends coach in 2011 and became interim head coach in 2015. Campbell then spent four seasons in New Orleans as an assistant before the Lions fired head coach Matt Patricia, resulting in Campbell’s applying for the open position in 2020. Despite being one of the least qualified candidates among Todd Bowles, Robert Saleh, and Eric Bieniemy, Campbell was hired as the new head coach of the Detroit Lions on Jan. 20, 2021.
Campbell was mocked by the media, with many saying that the hiring was a mistake — and there were points at which they seemed right. The Lions started 0-10-1 under Campbell and only won four of his first 23 games, but unlike the rest of his career, people put their faith in Campbell. From Campbell crying after losses to quarterback Jared Goff’s sprinting to celebrate with Campbell, Lions fans could see an identity forming in Detroit even before the fateful night at Lambeau. Before going 12-5, the Lions kept games close against far better teams, and fans fell in love with the team on Hard Knocks, an annual documentary produced by HBO. Even in losing streaks, the team reflected Campbell’s own identity of being a hard-nosed, blocking tight end, playing kneecap-biting football.
Dan Campbell will face criticism this offseason for the aggressive fourth-down calls made in the NFC Championship loss to San Francisco. However, Dan Campbell asked ownership to trust him from day one, and they stuck with him through the first season and a half. Now, they need to trust Campbell again. Sure, Campbell needs to grow as a coach, but this is what Detroit signed up for with Dan Campbell. His aggressive mentality is what built this team. Losing in that way was tough, but it would have been worse to lose by not playing Campbell-style football. Campbell was not building a team to win Super Bowl 57, he is building a new culture for the Lions. They’ll be back.
