New Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell made his way through talking about caustic kneecaps to welcome tourists during a passionate, emotional, intense and sometimes funny hour-long press conference by referring to “The Big Lebowski” as he introduced himself to his new city and team.
If there were any questions about the kind of passion Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp and team president Rod Wood were looking for in their next head coach, it was evident from the moment Campbell stepped up to the mic until he left it.
Campbell gave a 19-minute opening statement, provided direct answers to a variety of topics, and specified exactly what type of team he wanted – a team that reflects the city he once played for.
“This place has been kicked. It’s battered. It’s bruised. And I could sit here all day and give you coachspeak,” Campbell said Thursday. “I can tell you, ‘Hey, we’re going to win this weekend.’ None of that matters, and you don’t want to hear it anyway You’ve heard enough of those things, excuse my language.
“This is what I do know. This team is going to take over the identity of this city and this city has crashed and found a way to rise. It has found a way to overcome adversity, right? So this team is going to be built. We’re gonna kick you in the teeth, right? And if you hit us back we’ll smile at you And when you knock us down, we’re gonna get up and go all the way up, bite off a kneecap Okay? And we’ll get up and it takes two more shots to take us down And on the way up we’ll go your other kneecap and we’ll get up and it will take three more shots to get us down, and if we do that, we’re gonna get another piece out of you.
‘Soon we’ll be the last one standing. That will be the mentality. ‘
Campbell’s message for the passion he wants his team to play with and for him to coach with was clear. He admitted that some of what he sold on Thursday was places for potential free agents to come to Detroit.
It was also the first time that one of Campbell’s new players heard him speak, so he wanted the message to get through.
Campbell also showed his humor and started his introduction with a joke. He ended up in Detroit by telling his agent Rick Smith to make sure the Lions thought they were meeting the Iowa State coach and the hot NFL coach Matt Campbell.
And Campbell recognized his resemblance to the character The Dude, played by Jeff Bridges in “The Big Lebowski”, and said he’d heard the comparison before, but “the hair isn’t the way it used to be.”
The Lions apparently embraced the reference to “The Big Lebowski”, identifying Campbell as “Head Coach / The Dude” on the nameplate outside his office.
The new nameplate hanging outside the new office for the new Lions’ HC Dan Campbell – The Dude. 📸 @Lions. pic.twitter.com/y6xKVy58FB
– Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 21, 2021
Campbell said he would change from his suit to team-issued gear after the press conference and go to work, which he did shortly after. A source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Campbell and the Lions have hired New Orleans Saints assistant Aaron Glenn as Detroit’s new defensive coordinator.
Campbell had mentioned Glenn in the press as a candidate he hoped would join him in Detroit.
“It’s no secret that I spoke to Aaron Glenn about the defensive coordinator,” Campbell said. ‘I was with him [in New Orleans]. He’s definitely someone I’m interested in. But I work through that. “
It’s this combination of things that sold Ford Hamp and Wood. In the search, Wood said the Lions were looking for four main criteria: “A leader of men, someone who could control the room and the attention of the entire team; the temperament to handle the grind of an NFL season, dealing with losses, injuries, and outside distractions; a positive voice for the entire organization with the media, the league, colleges, staff and our fans and the ability to put together an excellent staff. “
“We’re going to kick you in the teeth, right? And if you hit us back we’ll smile at you. And if you knock us down, we’re going to get up and make our way upstairs, we’re going to bite off a kneecap. And we’re going to go. and it takes two more shots to take us down And on the way up we’ll take your other kneecap and we’re gonna get up and it will take three more shots to take us down. We’ll take another piece out of you. Soon we’ll be the last one standing. ”
Lions coach Dan Campbell
Ford Hamp said Campbell sent a book of his coaching philosophy for their first interview and “I literally read his statement on culture and leadership and it was like he read our thoughts.”
“We need to bring some hope back to this town, man,” Campbell said. “I’m willing to do anything. See, I think I’m a big mind over matter person and many of you will think I’m a little crazy here, but I believe you can do that. certain things happen.
“If you’re a really positive thinker, I think positive things can happen to you and the people around you to grow out of that and they feel your energy.”
The former tight end of the NFL understands what he’s getting into with the Lions. He played for three seasons in Detroit, including part of the 2008 team that went 0-16 – although he admitted on Thursday that he was injured for most of that year and spent time rehabilitating in Texas, so he didn’t attend every day. .
But Campbell, 44, has been a player, he has been an assistant, and he was a head coach in an interim position with the Miami Dolphins in 2015.
Campbell has also learned over the past half a decade under Sean Payton at the Saints, a man and organization he had been constantly updating during his introduction and talked about emotionally. So he has a grip on what he believes and how he believes it.
“I think the soccer team can bring something great here. But listen, that’s at my core what I believe, man,” Campbell said. “Look, I don’t want to sell you something that you’ve been sold so many times before – trust me, I get it. And I wouldn’t want you to just jump on board right now and like, ‘I’m sold, I’ve got it 100 percent. ‘
“I wouldn’t expect from you. But I’m going to do everything I can to win you over and convince our team to win you over. At the end of the day I know that wins and losses are the only thing that But when I say I want our team to take on the identity of this city, I mean it. ”