Allen Park — A few days before training camp, Dan Campbell took a tumble. He hurt his left wrist, which made him nervous. He had a reputation to uphold, an example to set, a team to lead.
When the Lions opened Wednesday, Campbell was ready. His wrist tightly taped, he stood alongside his players and dove into the traditional up-down drills – dropping to the turf, leaping up, dropping and leaping at a quickening pace.
“I don’t know how I’m surviving,” Campbell said afterward with a sweaty grin. “I said, I have to do them — I cannot, not do these up-downs. All the guys did it, credit to them. We don’t force anybody to do anything, they either buy in or they don’t. And those players have bought in.”
You hear that phrase often around the Lions these days – “buy-in.” It’s notable because the Lions historically have struggled to generate any sustainable buy-in – from players, management, media, fans. Talent matters most, of course, and they’re working on that, in the second year of the Brad Holmes-Campbell regime. They’ll be one of the youngest teams in the league, which makes them wildly unpredictable, with an enormous gap between upside and downside.
I’m not here to guarantee these Lions are completely different, coming off a 3-13-1 season, with one playoff victory in 65 years. I am here to say Campbell believes it, and believes his players believe it. Some national pundits even believe it, pegging the Lions as a possible contender in the NFC North.
When Campbell talks about the “Same Old Lions” mantra, he actually finds it inspiring. He might be the first Lions coach ever to admit it. The truth is, before you can erase the ugly specter of history, you have to embrace it, not fear it.
And you have to have faith your plan will work. That’s why Campbell obsesses about the little things, clues that players are engaged and eager to end the franchise’s staggering history of failure. He even sees buy-in with the weigh-ins. Every player reported to camp at or below his prescribed poundage.
He sees promising players that opted to re-sign with the Lions instead of testing the market. He sees former No. 3 overall pick Jeff Okudah ready to go after missing a year because of Achilles surgery. If Okudah rebounds, and speedy rookie receiver Jameson Williams recovers from ACL surgery in time to contribute this season, and Aidan Hutchinson maintains his sack-attacking style, well, that’s how something could start.
“I don’t talk a lot about that (SOL) stuff in front of the team, but they know what we’re about,” Campbell said. “I know this, anything that you believe, you gotta create hope. There’s only one way to change it, that’s to win games. That’s how you change this whole narrative, and look, it’s been that way for a reason. I get it, we all get it.”
‘We have the talent’: Optimism brims as Lions open training camp
Biting kneecaps
Campbell played tight end for the Lions from 2006-08; he was injured and appeared in only one game during the 0-16 season. He knows. He hears. That’s why he came out firing the day he was hired, with his tearful, raging speech about biting kneecaps, which was a provocative way of saying everyone should be mad as hell and not take it anymore.
Campbell, 46, grinds out the word “grit” every chance he gets, and when the Lions were 0-10-1, they played hard to the bitter end. Campbell talked to NFL national writer Peter King recently and said the SOL narrative “fuels our fire.” He brought up Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike, an 80-1 longshot that shocked everyone.
“We can be the group that changes that, and doesn’t that drive you and motivate you?” Campbell said. “Man, to say we’re gonna be the first unit that comes out of this, we’re gonna stack a season, two seasons, three seasons. We’re the ones that did it, we did it in 2022, and we started in 2021.”
He talks in colorful, evocative tones. He doesn’t hide much – his emotions, his tears, his goals. You’ll see it up close when HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series starts Aug. 9. Cameras, producers and boom microphones were everywhere Wednesday, observing but not obtrusive.
Because Campbell has such an outsized personality, it’s natural to test for authenticity. Jared Goff had no choice but to buy in after the Lions acquired him for Matthew Stafford. Then when adversity hit with a decimated offense and zero victories, Goff played his best football down the stretch.
Asked afterward what he learned about himself, Goff said “I’m a lot tougher than I thought.” This season likely will determine whether he’s the long-term answer at quarterback, and the Lions are giving him a legitimate chance to prove it. They drafted Williams and signed free-agent receiver DJ Chark. They’ve empowered him to have more input under new offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
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Goff feels at home
Goff said Wednesday he feels at home now. And after the morbid years of the previous Lions regime, it’s still somewhat startling to see and hear the enthusiasm even during a mundane practice.
“Dan’s awesome,” Goff said. “We’ve loved his energy, and what he brings every day. I think nationally everyone is going to get glimpse of it now with ‘Hard Knocks.’ I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — it’s real and he’s not putting on a show. It’s who he is, and I think that’s what we respect about him.”
Will the Lions be significantly improved? The roster suggests they will. But significant improvement might mean only, say, a 7-10 record. With a talented offensive line and a potential game-changing running back in D’Andre Swift, Goff unabashedly says “the sky’s the limit.”
The floor has been the norm for too many years around here. These Lions are being molded in Campbell’s image, and in Holmes’ vision. Grit? Reflected in the team’s strength, its grinding offensive line. Energy and enthusiasm? The Lions have young, get-after-it assistant coaches in defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, assistant head coach Duce Staley, defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant and others.
It takes time to chip away decades of cynicism and skepticism. The Lions have drafted poorly and coached poorly for years, but it hasn’t always been a major talent deficit. It’s been a leadership deficit.
Campbell knew it when he arrived, which is why used the heavy hammer in his opening statement. If you’re gonna dream, dream big. If you believe, convince others to believe. It’s almost evangelical, but sincere.
“I can tell you, before I took this job, I envisioned us being downtown Detroit with the trophy and this city going crazy,” Campbell said. “I just try to be me. I’ve got a lot of energy. I’m excited. I’m enthusiastic. I think that helps those guys. They kind of believe in me, I guess.”
It starts with up-downs, and ups and downs. Campbell is different, that’s for sure. Will he make a difference in ways others couldn’t? Well, he certainly has our attention.
Bob.wojnowski@detroitnews.com
Twitter: bobwojnowski