On this day three years ago, January 21st of 2021, the Detroit Lions introduced Dan Campbell as their new head coach. The hiring was not necessarily the most popular choice for the perennially downtrodden franchise. Campbell had scant head-coaching experience and an unknown relationship with new GM Brad Holmes.
January 21st unleashed the mother of all introductory press conferences. The intensity and violence Campbell exuded were straight out of a Megadeth song. Watching it had many Lions fans sweating bullets.
While Campbell leans to Metallica, the Megadeth classic “Sweating Bullets” lyrics were certainly applicable on that day.
Feeling paranoid, true enemy or false friend?
Anxiety’s attacking me and my air is getting thin
Lions fans wanted to trust in the risk in the one-time Detroit tight end and the kneecap biting he espoused. But many also bought into the narrative that this new hire would wind up being a punchline, an embarrassment for a franchise that was just coming off a symphony of Patriot Way destruction. For many, the countdown to another coaching extinction began on that fateful day three years ago.
Hindsight is always 20/20
Looking back, it’s still a bit fuzzy
Three years later, we can look back and laugh at the cryptic writings from so many outlets on that day. The dystopia they predicted never materialized. The endgame they mocked to Detroit in 2021 instead sees Campbell and the Lions hosting a playoff game today after winning one last week. The system did not fail!
Hello me, it’s me again
You can subdue, but never tame me
Now the rest of the league is sweating bullets over Campbell’s architecture of aggression in Detroit. The Lions are conjuring something special under Campbell. So far, so good…
