Grading Dan Campbell's Appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show"
When new Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell is scheduled for a media interview, it should not be missed.
On Wednesday, Campbell was a guest on SiriusXM's "The Pat McAfee Show." He did not fail to deliver during his time spent with the talented media star.
In a near 30-minute interview, Campbell was asked about Detroit's losing history, his love of Metallica, lessons he learned from his time in Miami and why he chose not to hire McAfee as the team's special teams coach.
Here are the highlights from Wednesday's interview.
Biggest lessons learned from time coaching in Miami
Campbell shared that he has really learned the value of time management since his days in Miami.
"It's just being able to make sure that you make the most of your time," he explained. "And this is not hard for me, is not to micromanage. You feel like you're trying to do everything, or you want to do everything and you just can't do it. This time around, I'm able to hire my coaches. That's why I made the hires I did, because these people -- I can trust these guys. These are my hires. I know what they're capable of. I have all the confidence in the world that (offensive coordinator) Anthony Lynn is going to put a good gameplan together. I'll be able to just kind of go in and implement what I want."
Play that he regrets that continues to haunt him in 2021
Campbell specifically explained why a play that occurred during a loss against the Bills, in which he believed his timeout usage cost them the game, still haunts him.
On the play, running back Lamar Miller was tackled in the red zone, and Campbell still laments that he did not tell his coaching staff that he envisioned running the hurry-up.
"The problem was I had never told my friggin' coaching staff that we may just go hurry up to the line, back in the red zone, to see if we could catch them off guard," Campbell said. "They're all waiting for a time out, and I'm yelling 'hurry up.' We're trying to get to a play. (Ryan) Tannehill's trying to get to the best option. Where is the MIKE? What are we doing? It was a frickin' cluster, man. We end up going for it on fourth-and-1. Got stuffed. We go in with no points at halftime. Get our ass kicked, and I put that on me. That was my fault, man. One hundred percent. You learn a lesson, man."
How the Lions will use analytics
The Lions will implement analytical tools, but will also rely upon a myriad of other pieces of information prior to making decisions during games.
"I do think it's an important tool to use," Campbell commented. "That's all fine that the numbers say when to go for it, when to not go for it. When to go for two. Tell me what part of the game we're in. How's our defense playing? Who's the quarterback? Who's on the other sideline? Then, let's decide what we want to do. If everything is lined up properly and everything looks good and it's even teams and you feel good about where you're at, then, yeah, you go by the numbers. I think there's validity in that."
Campbell added, "But, man, to just say you're blindly going to lean on analytics makes no sense. Not in this sport. There's a physical element, there's a mental element to this game that's different than any other. And so to me, it's just a tool. It's a tool to have in your toolbox, if you need it."
Why Lions fans should have hope that his regime will be different
"To me, the short answer is Sheila Ford Hamp. If you want hope, she is the one who is bringing the hope," Campbell explained. "This all started with her. She took over ownership in the summer. She knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted a collaborative effort, starting at the top. In the simplest of terms, she wanted us to work as a team up top. A legitimate team up top. Let's do this together."
Grade: A
