It’s time for some people to apologize to Lions head coach Dan Campbell

Turns out he’s not a meathead

Mike Payton — Detroit Lions Beat Writer
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I’ll never forget the moment on Jan. 21, 2021, when I had the opportunity to hear Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell speak for the first time. His opening press conference lasted over an hour, and he said all the right things for the majority.

Then, in the closing moments, he said something about biting kneecaps, and that was all the national media and fans of other teams took from it.

From that moment on, he was labeled a meathead, and a lot of people were sure this would never work. Then, when it started working out, there had to be a qualifier for it. He was only good because he had a boy genius for an offensive coordinator in Ben Johnson. The new narrative was that he was just a “rah rah guy,” and that was it.

Dan Campbell proves again that he has a great offensive mind

Look, I know what the response will be. I’m used to seeing the goal post move on Jared Goff being a good quarterback all the time. It will be something like “Why? Because the Lions had a good game against the Commanders? That doesn’t make him good.”

The thing is, this isn’t the only example of it. We saw Campbell take over play-calling from Anthony Lynn in 2021, and the Lions’ offense drastically improved after that. We also know that Campbell played a significant role in installing the offense that Johnson ran, and we understand that Johnson ran his offense within the confines of what Campbell wanted to achieve.

We also know that despite a few bad games, the Lions’ offense has been rolling for the most part this season. It’s all Campbell. He may be funny, and he may play the role of meathead now and again, but this guy has been around offensive football for a long time. He knows what he’s doing out there.

For these reasons, it’s time for the narrative to shift regarding Campbell and for him to be viewed in the same way the football-watching world looks at Sean McVay or Kyle Shanahan.

I mean, what more do you need to see? What more does he have to prove when it comes to offense? It’s time to let go of the narratives on Campbell. Maybe get rid of the ones on Goff, too, while we’re at it.

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