Dan Campbell isn’t your typical NFL coach.
The head honcho of the Lions made that clear from Day 1 when he pledged at his introductory news conference that his team would bite the kneecaps off opponents. (He was speaking figuratively, not literally. We think.)
More recently, he colorfully told fans how hungry his team is to win.
“We are freakin’ starving. We are starving!” Campbell said at a fan fest on Aug. 6. “So the hyenas better get out of the way.”
On Monday, Campbell went off script again. This time, he and the entire Lions coaching staff took a step back and let the players run the entire practice. Campbell was present but did not interrupt the workout. The rest of the staff was excused from attendance.
Detroit didn’t work out in pads Monday, and the team drills portion of practice was relatively short, with no one-on-one sessions. Coaches provided a script and outline for practice, and the players took it from there, according to Sports Illustrated‘s All Lions website.
Lions players seemed to approve of the empowering gesture by Campbell.
“It’s a good way to kind of get players to hold each other accountable,” wide receiver Josh Reynolds told All Lions. “Instead of having a coach every day that gets in your a– all the time. To hear it from one of your teammates, one of your peers—it hits different.”
Rookie safety Kerby Joseph agreed that the experience will help the Lions in terms of accountability.
“I felt like it was a true experience to show us that, it’s up to us,” Joseph told All Lions. “Coach (Campbell) has been saying that all of the teams that he’s been a part of, the winning championships and stuff like that, have been player driven. I felt like it was a good opportunity to show us that we could do it.”
The Lions close the preseason Sunday at 4:30 pm ET in Pittsburgh. Detroit plays host to the Eagles in the regular-season opener on Sept. 11 at 1 pm ET.
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