ALLEN PARK, Mich. — Dan Campbell slammed his coffee down, startling everyone on the video call:
“I WANT THIS JOB.”
There were seven head-coaching vacancies in the winter of 2021, and only one team was crazy enough to call Campbell.
Only Campbell was crazy enough to think he could save the Detroit Lions.
So what if he was a bit … excitable? An NFL tight end for a decade, then an assistant coach for another, Campbell was a throwback in a league where the brainy offensive whiz had become all the rage. Coaches were supposed to mumble clichés in front of the media and move on.