Lions Coach Dan Campbell Appreciates Giants Coach Brian Daboll's Influence

The two coached together in Miami and have remained in touch since then.

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell talks with the media before the start of training camp at the Detroit Lions practice facility in Allen Park on Wednesday, July 24, 2024 / Eric Seals / USA TODAY NETWORK

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell is grateful for his opportunities in the NFL. He is especially grateful to New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll for everything he has learned under him.

The two coached together with the Miami Dolphins when Daboll was offensive coordinator and Campbell, a former New York Giants tight end who was their third-round pick in the 1999 draft, was the tight ends coach.  

Campbell, who is a little bit more outgoing than the reserved Daboll, at least publicly, spoke fondly of his time with the Giants head coach, crediting him with being just one of many who helped him get to where he is today.

"He is one of the smartest football minds I’ve been around. You talk about thinking fast, man. He tested us as a staff, and I learned a ton of football around him," Campbell said before the Giants and Lions held two days of joint practices this week. 

Campbell and Daboll have kept in touch over the years, although not as frequently as they did when they were both on the same coaching staff. Still, 48-year-old Campbell has seen much growth from afar in his one-time boss.

"Yeah, he’s continued to grow like any great coach has, and he has evolved. What he was doing in Buffalo was not what we were doing (in Miami). There were similar concepts, but he evolved with what the roster and that quarterback said he was going to evolve to, what was going to make them best, and that’s what he’s done here and what he will do here.”

Campbell said he was particularly impressed by how Daboll held things together despite every conceivable obstacle last year, leading to a disappointing 6-11 record one year removed from a 9-7-1 playoff season and Coach of the Year honors.

"He’s a hell of a coach. He is. You don’t do what you did a year ago without being able to coach, so I have a lot of respect for Dabes.”

Campbell had reporters chuckling when asked about Daboll’s significant weight loss this offseason. Daboll has never confirmed how many pounds he shed, but general manager Joe Schoen said it was around 45 pounds at the start of training camp.

"I told him he’s a chameleon. This guy’s unbelievable. When I was working with him when he first got the job, he looked about like he does now, and then within about two months, [he gained weight]. Then, he’s like, ‘You know what? I’m going to cut it back,” Campbell said. 

"If he decides he’s going to do this, he will do this. If he decides, ‘I’m going to let it go, I’m going to let it go,’ and I love that about him. I mean, he’s rare that way."

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