INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Dan Campbell has instilled a winning culture with the Detroit Lions in just three seasons as the team's head coach.
Campbell, who just led the Lions to the NFC title game for the first time in over three decades, has become well-renowned in the NFL world over his past two seasons, but what some might not know about the 2023 Coach of the Year finalist is that his first head coaching role came more than five years before he took the reigns in Detroit.
In his final season with the Miami Dolphins (2015-16), Campbell took over as interim head coach for Joe Philbin, who was recently hired to be the Las Vegas Raiders' Senior Offensive Assistant. Philbin was instrumental in Campbell's early years as a coach and has his former successor's utmost respect.
"I can tell you this: Joe is as detailed as they come," Campbell said when he addressed the media at the 2024 NFL Combine on Tuesday. "He's very methodical, he's very detailed, there's nothing that's going to get overlooked."
Those who tuned in to HBO's 2012 season of "Hard Knocks" should know exactly what Campbell means. Philbin, who was just beginning his first season as head coach of the Dolphins, was captured on film picking up trash around the practice field in an episode from that season.
"And he's going to make sure that everybody around him, from the coaches to the players, thinks that way," Campbell continued. "Like, there is nothing that he is not going to see because that's big to him. Details mean everything for him.
"And he's a grinder -- Coach Philbin's a grinder. So, you're going to get a guy who understands ball, he grinds, and he's very, very detail-oriented."
Philbin served as the Dolphins' head coach for three-plus seasons.
The NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Mich., on April 25-27, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders currently hold the No. 13 overall pick.
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