What Dan Campbell Shared With Tigers Manager in First Meeting

Last week, a meeting of two of the biggest minds in Detroit occurred.

With the Detroit Tigers staying at the hotel where the NFL annual league meetings were occuring during their road trip in Arizona, manager A.J. Hinch and Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell were able to connect for the first time in person.

Both came to Detroit to take over a team that was struggling ahead of their respective 2021 seasons, and have since taken their squads to the postseason two separate times. In doing so, they've been a part of a revitialization of sports in the city.

In an interview with 97.1 The Ticket ahead of the Tigers' home opener Friday, Hinch shared that he and Campbell met over coffee for around 45 minutes. They discussed a wide array of topics, including philosophy, coaching young players and helping a team make a big leap.

"What came out of it was we kind of handle players the same way, and we have the same thoughts and the same issues with trying to break in young talent or trying to take a team from good to great or trying to change the psychology of a team," the manager stated. "When we both entered, the Lions were struggling and the Tigers were struggling, and we've seen the emergence of Detroit sports."

Hinch shared that he would like to get Campbell to a game, adding that this is a difficult task with just how popular the sixth-year coach is in the city. He also noted that he'd like to have the coach around for preparation work behind the scenes, and hopes to do the same and observe the Lions.

"We love Detroit, and together we really bonded over that fact alone," Hinch explained. "And then, when you start talking about breaking down how to coach players nowadays, it was an awesome discussion. We'll have more of it now, I'm gonna get him to a game this summer."

Campbell and Hinch also briefly discussed in jest what it would be like to swap positions, with the biggest difference between the sports being the overall grind of the schedule. NFL teams play 17 regular season games, while MLB squads play 162 games.

Hinch noted that the Lions' head coach would need to adapt his style to withstand the grind, while he would have to maybe tick it up a notch emotionally to match the intensity of the NFL's schedule.

"I joked with him that 10 of my games are one of his games," Hinch quipped. "I'd have to get incredibly more emotional, and he'd probably have to take a deep breath and not be as emotional if he was gonna run the gauntlet of 162 (games). It would be a challenge for both of us."

Hinch and the Tigers are off to a 2-4 start heading into their first home game of the season Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals.