It’s a simple question. But it’s not a simple answer. What makes Dan Campbell so good? What makes Dan Campbell a good coach? Actually, let’s rephrase that. What makes Dan Campbell a great coach? At this point, he’s in year three of being head coach for the Detroit Lions, and he’s gotten them to a place they haven’t been in more than three decades: the NFC Championship game. So, yes, let’s call him a great one.
What makes Dan Campbell so good?
Dan Campbell is one of those guys who just has that mysterious x-factor to what makes him such a great coach. On paper, he doesn’t have a lot of coaching experience. Of the other coaches left in the NFL conference championship games this season, he has the least experience, by far. But, it somehow doesn’t matter.
There’s no right or wrong was to be a NFL coach. You have some coaches, like Mike McDaniel of the Miami Dolphins, who are super brainy about it. McDaniel is a Yale graduate. When you see him on the field, it’s like, who is this guy in capri pants? But, it works for McDaniel. The Dolphins have been a force this season, even though they fell short.
That said, Campbell is pretty much the stereotype of who you would expect to see as a head coach. He’s gruff and tough. He’s also friendly and the kind of guy you would strike up a conversation with at a bar. It’s that simple, down-to-earth, blue-collar personality that really makes Campbell resonate with NFL fans and players.
What makes Dan Campbell special?
So, Campbell’s personality is one reason he’s such a great coach. Another special reason, I believe, is his confidence. Even with the team was losing every single game in his first season as head coach, he never wavered. Heck, they didn’t win a game until December that year. With that incredible losing streak, the fans were changing “Same O’ Lions” a lot, and Campbell actually had the confidence to stand up and say that even though they were losing games, he didn’t want them to use that phrase ever again.
Campbell’s reaction came after a 35-17 loss against Green Bay in September 2021.
“I told them I don’t want to see that (bleep),” Campbell said in a press conference after the loss (via MLive). “I’m not that type of person. I’m not a negative person. I’m all about going to work. I want guys that are resilient, that are willing to go back to work. They love ball — they want to clean up their mistakes — and those are the guys I’m looking for, man. I’m not a sulker, I’m not a guy who — like, you’re not going to get me down, and those are type of people I want around me.” You tell them, Dan.
That confidence showed this season, even before all the wins. Following the Lions’ first game of the season, when they took out the Kansas City Chiefs, Campbell was happy, but not shocked, with the win.
“I didn’t learn anything. I got verification on what I already knew,” he said in a post-game press conference. “This is a resilient team. It already was a resilient team and we added pieces to that resilient team. We are built to handle some stuff and we did that today against a very good opponent.”
He’s also unapologetic, when he needs to be that way. “We’re disruptive, we’re aggressive and we hit,” Campbell said in a press conference leading up to the NFC Championship game (via @Lions on Twitter).
So, personality and confidence are both factors in what makes Dan Campbell a good coach. One more factor is his time on the field. Campbell was a professional football player from for the New York Giants from 1999 to 2002; the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 to 2005; the Detroit Lions from 2006 to 2008; and the New Orleans Saints in 2009. He was on both winning and losing teams. He knows what it is to take a hit on the field. He’s been in the trenches. That earns him big, big respect from his team. And that’s something you can’t replace.