New Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell, at a passionate, emotional, intense, and sometimes fun hour-long press conference, made his way talking about biting balloons at the tourist reception to refer to “The great Lebowski” while performing in his new city and team.
If there was any question about the kind of passion the lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp and team president Rod Wood were looking for in their next coach, it was obvious from the moment Campbell stepped into the microphone. until she left him.
Campbell made an inaugural 19-minute statement, gave direct answers on a multitude of topics, and expressed exactly what kind of team he wanted, one that reflects the city he once played in.
“This place has been kicked out. He’s been mistreated. He’s been injured. And I could sit here and give him a coach all day,” Campbell said Thursday. “I can give you,‘ Hey, we’ll win this weekend. ’None of that matters, and you don’t want to hear it anyway. You’ve heard enough, excuse my language.
“That’s what I know. This team will take on the identity of this city and this city has fallen and found a way to rise. It has found a way to overcome adversity, right? Be built on, we will give you a kick in the teeth, right? And when you punch us again, we’ll smile at you. And when you lie down, we’ll stand up, bite a ball. Very well? to knock us down.And on the way up, we’ll take your other kneecap and stand up and do three shots to make us fall and when we do, we’ll pull you out another piece.
“Soon, we will be the last to stand. That will be the mentality.”
Campbell’s message for the passion with which he wants to play his team and for him to train was clear. He admitted that part of what was coming Thursday was plots for possible free agents to come to Detroit.
It was also the first time any of Campbell’s new players had heard him speak, so he wanted the message to reach them.
Campbell also showed his humor, starting his joke presentation, ending in Detroit telling his agent, Rick Smith, to make sure the Lions believed they were meeting with the Iowa state coach. and recent NFL coach Matt Campbell.
And Campbell acknowledged his resemblance to the character The Dude, played by Jeff Bridges in “The Big Lebowski,” saying he has already heard the comparison, but “the hair is not like before.”
Evidently, the Lions accepted the reference to “The Big Lebowski,” identifying Campbell as “Head Coach / The Dude” on the plaque hanging outside his office.
The new plaque hanging outside the new office of Lions ’new HC Dan Campbell – The Dude. 📸 @Lions. pic.twitter.com/y6xKVy58FB
– Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 21, 2021
Campbell said after the press conference that he would move from his suit to the team uniform and start working, which he did shortly thereafter. A source told Adam Schefter of ESPN that Campbell and the Lions have hired New Orleans Saints assistant Aaron Glenn as Detroit’s new defensive coordinator.
Campbell had mentioned Glenn during the press as a candidate who hoped she would join him in Detroit.
“It’s no secret that I talked to Aaron Glenn about the defensive coordinator,” Campbell said. “I was with him [in New Orleans]. It’s definitely someone I’m interested in. But I’m working on it. “
It is this combination of things that Ford Hamp and Wood sold. In the search, Wood said the Lions were looking for four main criteria: “A man leader, someone who could command the room and the attention of the whole team; the temperament to handle the hassle of a season of NFL, facing losses, injuries and external distractions, a positive voice for the entire organization with the media, the league, universities, staff and our fans and the ability to gather an excellent staff “.
“We’re going to kick you in the teeth, aren’t we? And when you punch us again, we’ll smile at you. And when you lie down, we’ll get up and go up, we’ll bite a ball joint. And we’ll stand up and do two shots. And on the way up, we’ll take the other ball joint and we’ll get up and take three shots to get down, and when we do, we’ll take another piece out of you. “.
Dan Campbell, Lions coach
Ford Hamp said Campbell sent a book of his coaching philosophy before his first interview and “literally, I read his statement about culture and leadership and it was like reading our minds.”
“We need to get some hope back in this city, man,” Campbell said. “I’m willing to do whatever it is. Look, I think, I’m a big person who cares a lot and a lot of you guys will think I’m a little bit of a scam here, but I think you can make things happen in a certain way?
“If you’re a really positive thinker, I think positive things can happen to you and those around you and they feel your energy.”
The NFL winger understands what he’s getting into with the Lions. He played three seasons in Detroit, including a part of the 2008 team that went from 0 to 16, though he admitted Thursday that he was injured most of this year and spent time rehabilitating in Texas, so it wasn’t up to date.
But Campbell, 44, has been a player, has been an assistant and has been an interim coach with the Miami Dolphins in 2015.
Campbell has also spent the last half decade learning from Sean Payton with Saints, a man and organization he continually credited during his presentation and who spoke emotionally. So you have an idea of what you believe and how you believe it.
“I think the football team can cause something fantastic here. But, listen, that’s what I think, man,” Campbell said. “Look, I don’t want to sell you anything they’ve sold you so many times: believe me I understand. And I wouldn’t want any of you to just jump on board right now and like, ‘I’m sold, I have 100 percent.’ .
“I wouldn’t expect it. But I will do everything in my power to win you over and get our team to beat you. At the end of the day, I know victories and losses are the only thing that matters. But when I say I want our team to take on the identity of this city, I mean it. “