Why Falcons' Arthur Smith Loves Lions' Dan Campbell

Arthur Smith and Dan Campbell share some career parallels, but the Falcons coach enjoys his opponent's approach to the NFL.

Sunday's meeting between the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions not only pits two promising teams against one another, but it also marks a meeting of unique, young coaches in the NFL.

Falcons head coach Arthur Smith recently discussed his team's upcoming game in Detroit, and he made a special effort to praise Lions coach Dan Campbell, a man often noticed for his unorthodox approach to coaching at the professional level.

“I love Dan Campbell," Smith said. "I think maybe the league got too boring and corporate, but it’s healthy for the game – in all seriousness, he’s a great coach. Like I said, he’s done a hell of a job up there.”

Campbell has been the head coach of the Lions since 2021, his first full-time coaching gig in the NFL. Smith also gained his first full-time head coaching spot in 2021 with the Falcons, further tying these young coaches to one another.

While with the Lions, Campbell has a head coaching record of 13-22, and Smith brings a mark of 16-20 into Sunday's meeting. So far this season, the Lions pulled off a Week 1 road upset of the Kansas City Chiefs before dropping a game in overtime last week against the Seattle Seahawks.

Campbell noted this week that the loss to Seattle stung, but his team is back in preparation to host the Falcons this weekend.

"I hate losing, but I love this because I just feel like this is what we're all about, you know. We're back to reality. We're back in the mud," Campbell said. "It's doom and gloom outside of this building and this world. Man, let's just hunker down and go to work and let's get back to what we do well."

Atlanta and Detroit are scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. on Sunday, and the game will be televised on FOX.