Todd Haley Shares Wild Practice Fight Story Featuring Lions Coach

Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell is known for his relentless energy, a trait that also defined him while he was a player in the NFL.

Campbell, who spent a total of 11 years in the league with the New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints, was often known to be a physical force who was unafraid to do the dirty work.

Now entering his fifth year as the Lions' leader, there have been plenty of stories told about his time as a player in the NFL.

Longtime NFL coach Todd Haley recently added to that lexicon, as he shared a story of Campbell starting a fight during a practice ahead of a big rivalry game.

Haley, who was the wide receivers coach of the Dallas Cowboys while Campbell was a player there, said that Campbell was called over for a conversation with head coach Bill Parcells during a practice leading up to a game against the New York Giants.

As Haley said on a recent appearance on the 'This is Football' podcast, Campbell returned to the huddle after his chat with Parcells, and promptly started a fight on the next play.

"You could see Bill Parcells getting heated up," Haley said. "He was not happy with the way anything was going, there was no energy, and I see him call Dan over to the side and say a couple words to him and Dan runs back into the huddle," Haley said. "And Parcells, with his arms crossed like he always did, walked over to me and said, 'Watch this, Todd.' A fight ensued on the next play, and Dan Campbell was in the middle of it."

Haley pointed out that Campbell was a player that Parcells could trust, and as such he turned to him when the team needed a boost.

"As coaches, you gotta do whatever you have to do to get things going in the right direction, and he knew Dan was his man to get in there and stir it up and it worked," Haley said. "All of a sudden practice, everyone's hooting and hollering, excited and good things happened from there."

Here is a collection of Detroit Lions headlines on Thursday, June 26.

1.) Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer dispelled the notion that the Lions got worse this offseason during his Wednesday mailbag.

2.) In a list of NFL players who could've played in the NBA, NFL analyst Gilbert Manzano tabbed Lions' offensive tackle Dan Skipper as one of the team's options for the center position.

3.) Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown interviewed New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback Tyler Shough on the most recent episode of the 'St. Brown Bros' podcast.

4.) Lions tight end Sam LaPorta and his wife Callahan received a blessing from Pope Leo XIV during a recent trip to the Vatican.

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