Jan 22, 2024
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Don't you detest when you see a coach who is always screaming at the players, has an ugly mug on his face, and is as arrogant as a college professor, as if coaching is his birthright, and not something more innately collaborative? Surely, they are coaches still like this, ones that believe that being a prick is synonymous with wearing a headset and looking at a playbook, such as the Giants's Brian Daboll, but there is one coach that I have been truly impressed by recently: The Detroit Lions's Dan Campbell. Campbell, who reminds me of my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers's Mike Tomlin, is "Football guy" personified: the kind of football coach who wakes up thinking about hugging his players, says "dude" every sentence, and puts them in the best position to succeed.
Last night, the Lions beat the Packers 34-31, partly because of Campbell's decision to go for it on fourth down when a field goal with 48 seconds left would have given them the lead. However, it would have also given the Packers the ball back with enough time for hotshot quarterback Jordan Love to tie or win the game for the Pack. Campbell went with the gunslinging move like David Caruso in NYPD Blue. He went for it, the Lions's running back, David Montgomery was able to make it despite Jared Goff falling down, and then the Lions counted the clock down before winning the game with a field goal. It was sport as theater. Now, the Lions still make me nervous -- Goff, the quarterback, is not an elite quarterback, and the surging Philadelphia Eagles's stingy defense can possibly make life hard for him --- but they are the *best* team in the NFL. Campbell's fostered a winning environment, as trite as that phrase can be.
Campbell's enthusiasm for the game is infectious, an unquestionably masculine but romantic view of coaching and football for the TikTok generation. He uses the traditional ways of being a football coach to also be chic and personable. He used to be a former player, and partly why he took the Lions job --- an organization that has not been very successful throughout its history --- is because he used to play there and he felt like he understood the Detroit community. Safety Brian Branch said that they would run through a brick wall for Campbell. I've always had this theory about American Football: It isn't always fun, because of the violence and the lack of clear financial comfort that some non-quarterbacks don't get, so unless you are Bill Belichick and you win all the time, your coaching style has to inspire devotion in your players. Joy must be apart of it, or what is else there? CTE?
Campbell is pure graciousness. He loves his players. It is easy to love them when they are good, and the Lions have an excellent offensive team, and a scrappy defensive team that has held steady despite some injuries. An offense that is based on running the football and play action, the Lions are fun to watch because they were made a different image than the Chiefs, or Brady's Patriots. It isn't a supreme quarterback with gaping holes throughout the roster. This is a deep team that relies on movement and pace. Watching the Lions play is fun, in a league that needs more weirdness and whimsy. But, Campbell seems like the star of the team even though he does not play. They were made in his image. He's the dude you want to be around, thus want to play for. Is this style something that will continue to spread throughout the league? One can hope.
Dec 6, 2024
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losers deserve to lose this isnt the way things should be
Jan 26, 2024
Feb 11, 2025
Top Recs from @sugargoblin
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you’re only 22 for so many saturday nights… am i right!?
Jan 21, 2024
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even (especially) when you miss him. the days are short and your bed is cold. lay on a heating pad and read your high school diary entries about the boys who taught you how to yearn
Jan 21, 2024
