Stafford: Dan Campbell, Andy Reid Two Most Authentic NFL Coaches

Former Lions quarterback praised Dan Campbell.

The Detroit Lions enjoyed a historic season in 2023, racking up 12 wins and reaching the NFC Championship game for the second time ever. 

Part of their postseason run involved a win over former franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.

Though Stafford departed the team in 2021 in a trade, he followed the success of the team throughout this season. 

Watching from afar, and later in a head-to-head playoff showdown, the veteran quarterback wasn't surprised by the Lions' success. He had high praise for their efforts on a recent appearance on his wife Kelly's podcast 'The Morning After With Kelly Stafford & Hank.'

“No, I thought they were built for it. No. You never know how far they’re gonna go but the fact that they were a good team, that didn’t surprise me at all," Stafford said. "Their offensive line is really talented, when they’ve got both the backs going, Jared was playing at a really good clip and it takes some emergence, right? That rookie class that they had was really good. I’d put it up against, I mean ours was great as well. Two of the teams that had success in the league had a bunch of rookies that were playing at a high clip. Those guys showed up for their team for sure.” 

Stafford's departure coincided with the arrival of Lions' coach Dan Campbell. There was some overlap, as Campbell was hired on Jan. 20 and Stafford was traded on Jan. 31. 

Before the organization dealt the veteran quarterback, he was able to converse with Campbell about Detroit. Stafford walked away impressed with the new coach's engaging manner. 

Authenticity has long been a characteristic that the league's most successful coaches share. Three years after the trade, Stafford sees that trait in Campbell. 

“He’s, from afar, seems like a players coach. Guys love playing for him, he’s aggressive as it gets. You feel like your coach is putting the ball in your hand. I got a chance to talk to him before I left," Stafford explained. "He just wanted to talk to me a little bit, pick my brain about some of the stuff around there and I spent an hour, maybe an hour and a half talking to him. I came away, I was like, man, I don’t know what the team will look like or whatever, but he’s an engaging guy to talk to. I think he does a great job with the media and then obviously does a great job in his locker room. Cares a lot.

"I think one of the biggest things that coaches that have success in the league are is authentic. You can be authentic and be Dan Campbell or you can be authentic and be Andy Reid and they’re just polar opposites. But also, it plays in the locker room because you can’t sit there and fake it, there’s too many eyes on you, guys will call you out and it won’t work. And those guys are two of the most authentic guys as it gets and it works for their team.” 

When co-host Hank Winchester posed the idea of the Lions being unable to fly under the radar, Stafford pushed back by saying that the organization proved capable of handling the best opponents that the league has to offer. 

“Yeah, you’re gonna get everybody’s best shot for sure," Stafford said. "But you know what? They were getting everybody’s best shot in the playoffs and they handled themselves fine. They've got enough guys, coaches and players, that have been through it that they'll know what it's gonna take.”