3 Birthday Wishes for Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell
Dan Campbell, the Detroit Lions new head football coach, turned 45 years old this week after celebrating his latest birthday.
Tasked with turning around a dormant franchise, Campbell along with Detroit's new front office and coaching regime have their work cut out for them, as the franchise is embarking on another rebuild following the disappointing end to the former regime.
Here are three birthday wishes for the organization's latest head football coach.
1.) Offensive lineman Penei Sewell drops to No. 7 in this year's draft
The former Oregon offensive lineman allowed just one sack over 1,376 snaps in two seasons in college.
Sewell would be a home-run pick at No. 7, and would add yet another franchise building block to a line that already features cornerstones Frank Ragnow and Taylor Decker.
If Sewell falls to Detroit, Campbell and Co. could actually have an opportunity to build a rushing attack that could gain some traction quickly.
“I'd love to prove everything that I have on my plate to really come out each and every day to prove that I'm worthy to be in this league and to be a tackle in this league,” Sewell said last month at his pro day. “Whatever I have to do, and whatever steps that looks like, I will do and I will accomplish it.”
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2.) Quarterback Jared Goff rebounds from a shaky 2020 season
If Detroit can tap into Goff's competitiveness and willingness to prove everyone wrong for believing he is simply a 'bridge' quarterback, the organization will soon forget about their last signal-caller.
In his first media session as a member of the Lions, Goff acknowledged that his exit has put a "chip" on his shoulder.
“It builds that chip on your shoulder a little bit,” Goff said. “I won’t lie about that. There is that extra motivation and chip that you do feel.”
Detroit Lions
3.) Lions' roster remains healthy throughout 2021 season
For as bad as the former coaching staff did in getting the most of the talent on the roster, the team was often forced to turn to second and third stringers.
Numerous players dealt with nagging injuries, and the list of players who ended up on the injured reserve list was far too great to win on a consistent basis.
If Campbell and the strength and conditioning staff can keep the players reasonably healthy, Detroit will have a stronger chance of competing late in football games.
More from SI All Lions:
Roundtable: Is Jared Goff the Best Quarterback in NFC North?
Sports Book Predicts Lions to Finish with Worst Record in 2021
