Saturday, January 10, 2026

Lions Links for Saturday 1-10-26

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How Jim Harbaugh, other NFL players-turned-coaches carried themselves on the field (Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions - NFL tight end: 114 games (Giants, 1999-2002; Cowboys, 2003-05; Lions, 2006-08) | 5 playoff games.  NFL head coach: Dolphins, 2015 (interim); Lions, 2021-present - One of one. That's the phrase that captures how Detroit Lions president Rod Wood says the team views Campbell.  Campbell's image as a player and coach is more of an everyman than an outlier, all energy and emotion. As a player, he was not a superstar. In his 10-year career, he was a full-season starter at tight end just twice, catching 91 passes for 934 yards and 11 touchdowns in total. He never had a Pro Bowl season, never won an award. As recounted in a story for NFL.com after he became the interim coach of the Miami Dolphins in 2015, he didn't care much about his stats, but he loved to block and preferred to be treated like an offensive lineman. He also had an all-too-rare quality that made him both a locker-room favorite and perfect head-coach material: emotional intelligence, an innate sense of when to be fiery and when to be compassionate, how to reach players, whatever they needed, no matter the circumstance. And, of course, his experience as one of the NFL's grinders meant he knew exactly how players reacted to coaching tactics.  When he stepped in for Joe Philbin in Miami a decade ago, he immediately removed signs featuring motivational messages for players from the team auditorium. He rearranged the locker room so position groups would be together, to better foster relationships and conversations between players who have to perform together. He sped up the pace of practices.  "I feel like I've been blessed with the ability to read people somewhat, understand what makes them tick, what helps them, what hurts them," Campbell told NFL.com then.  Despite respectably going 5-7 as the interim, Campbell didn't get the permanent job with Miami. Instead, he became an assistant head coach for Sean Payton in New Orleans for five seasons. When the Detroit Lions, for whom Campbell played over three seasons, hired him in January of 2021, they were coming off three straight losing campaigns and had not won a playoff game since 1991. Wood and team owner Sheila Ford Hamp walked Campbell through the facility on the way to his introductory press conference. At one point, Campbell bent over and broke down. "Oh my god," he said. "I'm the head coach of the Detroit Lions."  Campbell then conducted an epic media session that foreshadowed the culture change he would demand, and the passion he would bring to the job. He talked about how Detroit had been through tough times and risen from them. He said the team would take on the city's identity, that when they were knocked down, they would get back up and bite a kneecap off on the way up.  The turnaround took two seasons -- and a trade that brought Jared Goff to Detroit -- but the Lions now are exactly what Campbell promised and are a reflection of Campbell himself, playing aggressively and with confidence and relentlessness. They won the NFC North two years in a row, and in their first playoff appearance under Campbell, in the 2023 season, they won two games.  This season, before which Campbell had to replace his offensive and defensive coordinator, the Lions fell short of the playoffs, succumbing to a late-season collapse and a string of injuries that especially depleted the offensive line and led to an inconsistent running game. After the dust settled, Campbell offered reporters a blunt self-evaluation -- "I'd give myself a freaking F" -- and, in characteristic fashion, promised to embrace the pain of missing the postseason in the interest of fueling future success.  "It's going to be a hard pill to swallow watching these teams in the playoffs," he said. "But I think you've got to watch them. You've got to force yourself to do it because that's a drive to want to be there, be a part of it."):  https://www.nfl.com/news/how-jim-harbaugh-other-nfl-players-turned-coaches-carried-themselves-on-the-field

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Posted by LionsFan at 6:56 PM

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