One year ago today was one of the most memorable in the recent history of the Detroit Lions. On January 21st, 2021, the Lions introduced Dan Campbell as their new head coach.
In his introductory press conference, Campbell introduced himself to the world with an epic, bombastic, intense, occasionally violent performance that echoed across the sporting world. Campbell launched the “biting kneecaps” memes that still predominate the Lions landscape.
The reactions to the stunning display of emotional intensity and honesty were all over the proverbial map.
Here’s what we wrote in the immediate aftermath,
The Dan Campbell introductory press conference is going to go down in history as one of the most epic coaching intros in NFL history. Campbell offered a passionate 20-minute opening statement, followed by another 45 minutes of wildly enthusiastic answers that often veered far from the questions being asked.
It was not your father’s press conference. It was most certainly not Matt Patricia’s press conference, or really like any we’ve seen before. There were honest tears of emotion. There was casual profanity. There was poignancy. There was very specific Xs and Os breakdowns. There was 100 percent honesty and free-flowing of thought from Campbell, the new Detroit Lions head coach.
One year later, we’ve learned that the first impression of Campbell was largely true. He’s still an emotional, passionate, poignant teacher and leader with an underappreciated sense of Xs and Os that belies the “meathead” appearance. The ability to be Dan Campbell and be comfortable being himself is one of the coach’s best qualities, and it resonated with the players and (most of) the fans.
Here’s a look back at the memorable presser:
