You can’t say Dan Campbell isn’t excited about his new job.
The Detroit Lions coach said he wouldn’t bore the media with false promises or cliched coach-speak during his introductory press conference on Thursday.
Campbell certainly delivered. Already touted by ESPN reporter Michael Rothstein as heading “toward one of the best introductory press conferences in history,” the presser, which was over an hour long, had all sorts of wild moments. At one point, it felt like he was delivering play by play for a boxing match.
“We’re going to kick you in the teeth, all right?” Campbell told reporters. “And when you punch us back, we’re going to smile at you. And when you knock us down, we’re going to get up and on the way up, we’re going to bite a kneecap off, all right? And then we’re going to stand up. And then it’s going to take us two more shots to knock us down. And on the way up, we’re going to take your other kneecap. … Before long, we’re going to be the last one standing.”
— UConn Has A Football Team (@UConnHasAFBTeam) January 21, 2021
Though Campbell’s comments are a little more epic– and gory — than we’re accustomed to hearing, they are pretty much on brand for the coach speak he promised he wouldn’t deploy. But unlike ex-Lions coach Matt Patricia, Campbell’s relationships with the media seems to be off to a nice start.
Dan Campbell appears to be winning the press conference https://t.co/f2wp9P1Bpp
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) January 21, 2021
And that’s a good thing considering his experience isn’t necessarily on par with the other candidates who were in the mix for the job. Campbell was the Dolphins’ tight end coach from 2011 to 2015 before moving into the interim head coaching role in 2015. He then joined the Saints in 2016, where he was the assistant to the head coach and tight ends coach. The Lions missed out on two of the top candidates, Robert Saleh (who went to the Jets) and Arthur Smith (who went to the Falcons). But Eric Bieniemy, the Chiefs offensive coordinator who interviewed with Detroit, was still available.
Campbell’s bloody, violent jargon isn’t exactly what I’d call impressive — nor do I think it’s actually the sort of coaching that will prove effective in helping the pro athletes employed by the Lions to go out and beat the equally motivated and tough pro athletes of other teams.
But I guess if his act creates some buzz with media and fans, and eventually it motivates his players to work hard and buy into systems put in place by Campbell’s coordinators, then it might be fine.
