Most seasoned NFL fans can list the laughing stock teams of the league as though they’re reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. While the NFL is ever-evolving, usually this list remains pretty consistent. One spits out names such as The Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, New York Jets, and, of course, The Detroit Lions. But are they the same under Dan Campbell?
I usually write about a team that has always historically made this damnable list, and until just over a decade ago. If anyone back then were to suggest that The New Orleans Saints would one day win a Super Bowl, they would have been laughed out of a room and labeled a hopeless dreamer. I know because this is who I used to be. But teams such as the Saints of 2009 or the Bengals of last season will occasionally jump out and surprise you, showing that a new leader, the right talent, and a winning attitude can completely shift that loser image. Can Dan Campbell be that leader for The Detroit Lions?
Dan the Man Himself
Campbell has had a lengthy tenure in the NFL as a player and coach where he’s been involved with five teams over the course of twenty-two seasons. He’s now in his second year as head coach for the historically laughable Lions. Though unlike many of the Lions teams of the past, Campbell has made a consistent effort to build and foster a culture of grit. One could argue that grit must be a core value of any football team that ever dreams of being successful.
A Grim or Gritty Outcome
Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines grit as firmness of mind or spirit of unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger. There are certain elements of this definition that imply true stake, detrimental to teams that don’t have it. The Detriot Lions themselves are considered a dangerous organization from a career perspective, known as the place where your career goes to waste away before outright dying altogether. Most fans who watched last year’s Superbowl rooted for the LA Rams, not because they were underdogs, but because their quarterback, Matthew Staford, was thought to deserve a shot at a Superbowl after “wasting” ten years in Detroit. What does that say about a franchise?
It seems as though something different is brewing in Detroit however. It’s easy to see thanks to HBO’s annual docu-series Hard Knocks. Campbell has aimed to change the perception of the Lions even since his first public move as head coach when he spoke to the press for the first time.
“This team is going to take on your identity.”
“We’re going to kick you in the teeth, and when you punch us back, we’re going to smile at you. And when you kick us down, we’re going to get back up, and on the way up, we’re going to bite a kneecap off.”
“Before long, we’re going to be the last one standing.”
“We’re gonna kick you in the teeth, and when you punch us back, we’re going to smile at you. And when you knock us down, we’re gonna get up. And on the way up, we’re going to bite a kneecap off.”
New @Lions HC Dan Campbell had quite the introductory press conference 😳 pic.twitter.com/cWJTSFtJAQ
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 21, 2021
One could argue that their identity already has changed, regardless of what their record might be. There’s youthful energy of playfulness and humor in the facility, along with an attitude built on the quality value we referred to earlier. Grit. With it, I don’t believe it’s out of the range of possibility that the Detroit Lions (you heard me right) could actually do something this season.
Resilience and the Art of Achieving the Impossible
This isn’t Dan Campbell’s first opportunity to achieve the impossible in the NFL. Campbell once played under a coach who would one day be his legendary mentor. Legendary, only because, he made pigs fly and hell freeze over when he brought a Lombardi Trophy to a once laughable New Orleans Saints organization. This team was no phoenix that rose from the ashes because its entire history had been ash. This brings us to an element of grit that I think Marriam-Webster’s definition lacks. Resilience.
Resilience was the primary effort of Sean Payton’s reconstruction of the Saints given that he’d been handed a city left in ruin from Hurricane Katrina and a questionable quarterback coming off of a severe shoulder injury. Many thought the laughable Saints had reached their lowest, playing all of zero games in New Orleans in 2006 and nearly being sold entirely to the City of San Antonio. Four years later, the Saints were Super Bowl champions. You don’t need the full story to understand what a gritty football team is. This was instantiated by the coach who would then teach Campbell, “everything he knew.”
Do the Lions change their image now? Who knows? Many think no. Many laugh. Maybe their right. But from what I’ve seen and experienced, they’ve already changed it. Last season may have been a common season for Detroit, winning only three games and finishing last in the NFC North. But the signs were all there. Take their week thirteen win last season over a flabbergasted Minnesota Vikings. Dan and his players celebrated as though they’d won the Super Bowl. Is this possible that this is practice for what’s to come or the evergoing cursed legacy of The Detroit Lions?
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