'He's Special, He's Elite:' Dan Campbell Proves He Is Top Leader
Sitting with a record of 1-6, it would have been easy for Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell to sit back and continue along the same path.
After assessing what was contributing to the team's struggles, Campbell made the extremely difficult decision to part ways with defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant.
More: Ranking Detroit Lions 17 Unrestricted Free Agents
Even though the players were fond of Pleasant and he was recommended to be part of the staff by defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, changes had to be made in the secondary, due to constant miscommunication and ineffectiveness to start the season.
“I think Dan -- he’s special, he’s elite," Detroit general manager Brad Holmes told reporters earlier this week. "I will say what Dan can do, and I don’t know if all coaches have, but I’ll say what I -- he has an elite ability to pull a team out of a dark place, and whether it’s from a record standpoint, whether it’s something from he has to make a tough decision on the staff. Like, it’s proven. Proof’s in the puddling.
"He had to make a tough decision on the staff last year, a decision I know he didn’t want. But, he had to, and he knew he had to," Holmes explained further. "And, he’s going to do it. He’s going to do what it takes for the team. He had to do it again this year. It was at 1-6, and he just has a rare, elite ability to pull a team out and right the ship. And, when you have that, I think that’s just -- it’s God given, and you just either have it or don’t. And, he has that, and that’s one of the many qualities that I think makes him an elite coach.”
© Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Campbell's offseason message to young team
After meeting with the team, Detroit's second-year head coach had a direct message regarding what he expects from his young team, in regards to its offseason behavior.
“Be smart, be safe. Be smart and be safe. I don’t want to go to any funerals, none of us do," Campbell told reporters. "So, that’s the message, and in the meantime, we’ll be getting a hold of our guys, our coaches will. We’ll stay in touch. They know to -- they’ll stay in touch with us. But, it’s really as simple as that, man. Be smart. It’s not worth it. Trouble starts, go the other way, all those things, and that’s really it right now. We’ll get into the later part of this. This is literally one day out of it, so we don’t want to get into, ‘Hey, the offseason program is starting.' We just wrapped something up. Let’s give them a minute to breathe, and then we’ll get to that later."
