How Dan Campbell has turned the Detroit Lions around

Before you begin reading, here is a short clip to introduce you to the Dan Campbell.

What is Culture

Simply put, culture is a reflection on your values and attitudes. It’s unique to you, it represents how you approach each situation, and how you handle yourself when times get tough.

It’s who you are.

Who are the Detroit Lions?

GRIT.

That is the identity of the Detroit Lions. Dan wanted the culture of the team to reflect the city. The team, much like the city, needed to instill the belief that they had what it takes to claw back to greatness.

As Dan puts it “We will go a little longer, push a little harder, think a little deeper and sharper… Doesn’t matter if you have one ass cheeck, and three toes. I will beat your ass”. Say what you will about the man, he knows how to get a good soundbite.

This culture, of grit, has percipitated itself into every aspect of how the lions play. Even when they are losing, under Dan Campbell, the lions have fought tooth and nail for the entirety of the 60 minutes. Much different than the deflated lions that were coached by Matt Patricia (more on my hatred of Matt later).

Qualities that set Dan apart

Dan, in his own unique way (if you have seen his press confrecnes, you will get what I mean), is very well spoken. While he may speake of biting off kneecaps, and single ass cheecks, he speaks with passion, shows emotion, and instills confidence. Listening to him talk makes you want to run through walls for the man, because you know he will give his everything to ensure you succeed.

• Leads by Example

He practices the culture that he preaches. During the first Hard Knocks episode, while the team was doing an up-down drill, Coach Campbell got down and did it with the team. This is not something a coach does! Imagine being a player, and seeing your coach get down and dig deep with you.

• Authenticity

He asks his players and coaches to be authentic, never wanting them to be anyone but themselves. In season 1 episode 1, of Hard Knocks 2022, the TV show was interviewing Kelvin Sheppard, the Lions linebacker’s coach. After getting the position, in order to look the part, Sheppard had considering cutting of his dreadlocks. Dan Campbell would have none of it, letting Sheppard know that Dan had hired him for the job, and that meant that Kelvin shouldn’t try to fit the role, but rather just be himself.

He is never ashamed of who he is, this sets the tone for the organization to own who they are. Because of Dan, the current lions are not trying to exemplify other succesfull NFL teams, like they did in the past (matt patricia, im talking about you).

• Communication

When most NFL players are asked about the most important value in a good head coach, the one adjective that was used most often is Honesty. Players value a coach that is, for lack of a better word, straight up with them. He lets them know what he expects of them, tells them where they are lacking. Not requiring the players to decode what the coach is trying to say to them.

Dan is an expert communicator, using his words to motiviate the player to want to improve from within. The coaches who can't communicate well, critique in a way that fails to inspire the player, and often results in the breaking down of their confidence.

When you have an organization, and a team, that is as defeated as the lions. The last thing they need is someone putting them down even more. They need tough love, and someone to believe in them when they fall. That is how you build self confidence within your team.

Just take a look at the press confrences after their losses.

• Handling losses

Before Dan Campbell, Matt Patricia was the head coach of the Lions. During his 3 year tenure, the lions went 13-29-1 (win-loss-tie). During this time, the Lions had just about found every way to lose. Starting every game off strong, building up a lead, and then fumbling it away. With one of the worst losescoming against the Carolina Panthers in 2020, when the lions were destroyed 20-0.

Almost two years later, last saturday, the very same Carolina Panthers once again won out, in a 37-23 manhandling (cat handling?) of the Lions.

The way the two coaches spoke after these loses shows their difference in characters and the culture that they are trying to set in Detroit.

After the loss to the Panthers, Matt Patricia, put himself on repeat and churned out coach speak. Roughly saying the following: We didn’t execute, we need to go back to the fundamentals, we got beat on all three phases of the game, we just need to play better. In so may ways, subconciously, the communication placed the blame on the players. When pressed for details, he repeated the same phrases over and over again.

This was not the case for just the loss to carolina, this is what Matt Patricia said after EVERY SINGLE LOSS! To a fan, you have no idea what went wrong, what the team will be working on next. Your faith in the team drops like kevin’s chilli. The amount of accountability he took was saying “we need to coach them better”. As a player, that phrase must be deflating. As a fan, I want to kick him in the head.

In Dan’s case, it is a complete 180. While he wasn’t scared to hold the team accountable, he made sure to build them up. Mentioning many times what they didn’t do right, and even saying that they deserved the loss. However, making sure to let them (the team) know that he was proud of them. “…but I also told them, I was proud of them. Because you get what you deserve in this leauge … it’s heartbreaking but it’s also why I love it.” Every time a players name was brought up in the press confrence, he made sure to compliment their resiliency.

He spoke with passion, and wore his emotions on his sleeve. Ensuring sternly that he will make sure the team is ready for chicago. Rather than passing the blame, or practicing the political ploy (matt used this alot) of answering the question you wish was asked; Dan took accountability for the loss. Literally pointing at himself and saying “Chalk it up to me, I didn’t have them ready to go. That’s the bottom line”.

He ensures that the team, the fanbase, and the city never lose hope. That’s what a good coach does.

To Conclude

Dan Campbell, in his year and a half in Detroit, has come into one of the worst franchises and shifted their mindset from being losers, to winners. Since going 1-6 at the start of the season, the lions have rattled off 6 wins in 8 games. The lions, during this stretch of games, played some of the best teams in the leauge. Nevertheless, the pride from Detroit showed their grit, and fought a little harder, for a little longer, and thought a little deeper when it mattered the most in order to come away with wins.

With two weeks left, if the Lions win the next two games, they can still make the playoffs. Even if they don’t, the mentailty in Detroit has officialy shifted to that of winners. This team has gone from being a laughin stock in the leauge, to an up and coming threat to anyone they play. This all begins with Motor City Dan Campbell.

Yes, I am Dan Campbell fan boy. Man knows how to coach! Don't even get me started on Ted Lasso.