David Blough: Dan Campbell is Heartbeat of Detroit Lions

Goff's resolve

Blough first arrived in Detroit when he was traded there from the Cleveland Browns as a rookie. As a result, throughout his career he was able to work with both Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff.

Much like Campbell, Blough has seen Goff ride the highs and lows of playing quarterback at the highest level. Goff struggled in his first season with the team in 2021, but has shown remarkable resolve to resurrect his career after he was essentially cast aside by the Los Angeles Rams.

“Jared came over on different circumstances. He came over beat up, spit out from L.A," Blough said. "The resolve that Jared showed to pull (Detroit) back from where it had been, so getting to walk with Jared in that ’21 season, ’22 season into ’23, getting to be alongside him in parts of those three seasons as they turned it around was really special. To watch what it takes to build himself back up and a city back up and an organization back to where you look at the Lions, where it’s at now."

Stafford's impact

Blough also shared a story about his time playing with Stafford during his rookie year that had not been previously reported.

Blough's wife, Melissa Gonzalez, is a sprinter who competes at an international level and participated in the Tokyo Olympics. During his rookie season, Melissa was competing international in Qatar and the two hadn't seen each for quite some time.

When the Lions' bye week hit and Stafford caught wind of this, he offered to pay for a flight for Gonzalez to return to the states and spend the bye week with Blough. The coach told Meirov that Stafford paid to fly Gonzalez to Chicago, where Blough picked her up.

Nearly a decade later, that story sticks out to Blough regarding the 2025 NFL MVP and his character

“What I learned in that moment was he was trying to make every single person’s experience in the NFL special," Blough said of Stafford. "Whether it was the janitor, whether it was the chef, whether it was one of his teammates that was in and out of the building for a week on the practice squad.

"He didn’t know if I was gonna be there later that season. He was trying to make my experience special, it’s a testament to who he is as a man," Blough continued. "Now I can go forward as a coach and think, ‘I don’t know if this player will make our 53-man roster or be here in training camp, but I can still make his experience special.’”