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'I just need you to trust me. Please.' Lions coach Dan Campbell's speeches are legendary.
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- 'I just need you to trust me. Please.' Lions coach Dan Campbell's speeches are legendary.
It's not unusual for NFL players to tune out head coaches when they give speeches to the team. Many times, players just don't care. They've heard it all. Speeches don't move them. There are exceptions to this and one of them is a big one, a 6 feet 5 one, and that exception is named Dan Campbell.
Maybe it's because the Lions coach was a longtime NFL player. Maybe because Campbell looks like he could still play. Or maybe it's because Campbell isn't the meathead some of us thought he was, but actually someone who gets what human beings need to hear, who understands what makes a heart pump, and a mind focus.
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Yes, that press conference speech was, well, insane. But since then, each time I see a Campbell speech, I want to run through numerous walls. Or fly. Or go to the gym and punch something. Or get punched. Well maybe not get punched, but you understand. In his speeches, Campbell cries. He laughs. He curses. He yells. He prophesizes. Sometimes, he speaks softly and carries a big quip.
What Campbell does mostly is inspire his team. The Lions are in the NFC championship game because they are talented, well coached and fierce. But they are also here because of Campbell's words. He's come a long way since The Meathead Speech and developed into one of the best head coach orators in the NFL. Yes, he's that good.
There are many examples but I want to show you two. Both are from Lions training camp in 2022. In one, Campbell implores his players to trust him.
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"If you don't work on tackling. If we don't work on run after the catch, making a move. Man, what are we doing?" he says. "Then we finally get to Week 8, and we come to life because we have enough reps. I'm telling you, honestly, I'm doing this because it actually does help you with injury … I've got a plan. I swear to you. All I think about is you guys. That's all I think about, man. That's all I (expletive) think about is you guys and how I set you up for the best (expletive) possible, the best possible advantage I can give you to have a season. I swear to you. I just need you to trust me. Please."
In one part of the unedited version of the speech (which contains some naughty words) you see the face of Aaron Glenn, the team's defensive coordinator. Glenn is a longtime fixture in the NFL. He played for five different teams from 1994-2008 (making three Pro Bowls) and has coached for three. He's presumably seen everything including numerous speeches and in that scene even Glenn looks mesmerized. That's how good Campbell has gotten at this.
The other speech was also from that summer and on "Hard Knocks" and if the Lions do win the Super Bowl, it's likely that speech, again given in 2022, will be remembered as one of the propellants that got them there.
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It starts with Campbell pointing to a wall with the word "grit" on it.
"It's our core foundation, men. Grit," Campbell says. "And what does it mean? Really, in a nutshell, I think it means this: we're going to go a little bit longer, we'll push a little harder, and we'll think a little deeper, and a little sharper. To me, it means, we'll play you anywhere. We'll play you on grass, we'll play you on turf, we'll go to an (expletive) landfill. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you have one (expletive) cheek and three toes, I'll beat your (expletive)."
If you look back at this Lions season, so much of it is embodied in that speech. He was setting the table for this moment.
These speeches actually shouldn't work. They contain themes players hear all the time. Us against the world. Rely on the man next to you. Trust me as the head coach.
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The reason they do work is because of the Lions' history. It is them against the world because the city, and the team, have long been perennial, legitimate underdogs. So Campbell's message feels sincere and real. Not to mention he is sincere and real.
I said I'd focus on two speeches but actually there's a third. After the Lions beat the Buccaneers in the divisional round, Campbell had another emotional moment during a speech that had every Lions player watching and listening closely.
"You guys are unbelievable, man. I'm tellin' ya. We talked about it all year," Campbell said, getting increasingly emotional as he spoke. "This started a long time ago. You're built for this. You're (expletive) built for this, man. And look at what you guys did. You went out there, and it's another (expletive) hot team that we knocked off. It's the next hot team that you knock off. You know how hard it is to win in this (expletive) league in the playoffs? Do you understand what you're doing right now? What we're capable of?"
They do. We do. Thanks to Campbell's words.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Are Dan Campbell's speeches behind the Detroit Lions' success?
