Dan Campbell's 'Teeth Kicking, Kneecap Biting' Strategy for Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions 2007 Headshots

Dan Campbell, the Detroit Lions' new head coach, got worked up at his first press conference on Thursday. He spoke to his team, reporters and the city of Detroit, like he was getting psyched up for a game. It was refreshingly void of the usual sports platitudes, as Campbell straight up said "...you guys don't want to hear it anyway. You heard enough of that s---, excuse my language."

Campbell spoke for 19 minutes and made it clear that the team was going to overcome adversity in the same way the city of Detroit has.

"This team's going to be built on...'We're going to kick you in the teeth.' When you punch us back we're going to smile at you and when you knock us down, we're going to get up...and on the way up we're going to bit a kneecap off, alright? And when we stand up it's going to take two more shots to knock us down, alright? And on the way up, we're going to take your other kneecap and we're going to get up and it's going to take three shots to get us down..."

"Before long, we're going to be the last one standing. That's going to be the mentality."

Campbell started his career as a third round draft pick in 1999. He was a tight end for the New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints. The Miami Dolphins hired Campbell in 2010 as a coaching intern and eventually became the tight end coach before taking on the assistant head coach position with the New Orleans Saints in 2016.

Photo: Getty Images


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