Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell has helped turn the team around in just three seasons. The team went 3-13-1 in his first season in Detroit, 9-8 in his second season and this year the Lions finished 12-5.
The Lions earned their first NFC North title and it marked the first time since 1993 that they were crowned divisional winners. They landed the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoffs and their victory over the Los Angeles Rams was their first home playoff win since 1991.
In the divisional round, the Lions defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and will now face the No. 1 San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in the NFC Championship.
One major reason for the Lions' newfound success is their head coach. Campbell is the type of coach who is going to call a fake punt, go for it on fourth down and have some wild inspirational quotes for his team.
Here are some of his best quotes:
- Campbell at his introductory press conference, 2021:
"We're gonna kick you in the teeth, and when you punch us back we're gonna smile at you, and when you knock us down we're going to get up, and on the way, we're going to bite a kneecap off. We're going to stand up, and it's going to take two more shots to knock us down. And on the way up, we're going to take your other kneecap, and we're going to get up, and it's gonna take three shots to get us down. And when we do, we're gonna take another hunk out of you."
- Campbell on wanting a pet lion for the team
"I'll tell you what I would really love to do, just in general. I've talked to [Lions owner] Sheila [Ford Hamp] about this. I don't think we're going to be able to do it, but I would love to literally just have a pet lion. Just a legit pet lion on a chain — a big-ass chain. And he just, he really is my pet. We just walk around the building, we go out to practice, we're in 7-on-7, we're behind the kicker when he's kicking. We're just … there we are."
- Campbell on "Hard Knocks," describing how he wants the vibe of the team to be:
"It's our core foundation, men. Grit. And what does it mean? Really, in a nutshell, I think it means this: we're going to go a little bit longer, we'll push a little harder, and we'll think a little deeper, and a little sharper. To me, it means, we'll play you anywhere. We'll play you on grass, we'll play you on turf, we'll go to an [explicative] landfill. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you have one ass cheek and three toes, I'll beat your ass."
- Campbell after the team started 3-1 in 2023:
"I think our focus still has got to be we're not hunted. We're still on the hunt, and I said this back in training camp, but if you're hunting us, you don't have to look far. We're going to be on your front porch when you open the door."
- Campbell during fan-attended indoor practice:
"We are fricking starving … so the hyenas better get out of the way."
- Campbell on what he expects from his players:
"I told them, honestly, Day 1, I said, 'Look, I'm not carrying your toilet paper around. I'm not gonna wipe your butt. You're gonna wipe your own butt. You handle it and I'll treat you like men until you prove otherwise.'"
