.jpg)
7 hours ago
1
We already knew about Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell's career in the NFL, but did you also know he was legendary head coach Bill Parcells' secret weapon?
That was revealed in a recent interview between Kevin Clark and Todd Haley on the "This is Football" podcast.
Haley, who was on Parcells' Dallas Cowboys staff in the early 2000s, told Clark that when the team was struggling in practice, Parcells would deploy Campbell to start a fight with someone else on the team to get players motivated.
"You could see coach Parcells getting heated up. He was not happy with the way anything was going (at practice)," Haley said. "There was no energy and I see him call Dan [Campbell] over to the side and say a couple of words to him and Dan runs back into the huddle. Parcells, with his arms crossed like he always did, walked back over to me and said, 'watch this, Todd.'
"And a fight ensued on the next play and Dan Campbell was in the middle of it. As coaches you've got to do whatever you have to do to get things going in the right direction and he knew that Dan was his man to get in there and stir it up and it worked," Haley concluded.
Back in 2021, Campbell talked about his secret job.
"When I went to Dallas with Bill [Parcells], you know what that was? That was — you're two weeks into practice and you'd been through eight padded days, two-a-days, and guys are a little sloppy and he'd be like, 'I want you to go up there and I want you to push Greg Ellis after the play. Just push him right in the back," he revealed, per Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit.
"I'm like, 'Bill, you know it's going to piss him off?' 'Yeah, I know.' So then you do it, and then it's an all-out fight, but guys got energy and juice because now all of a sudden you get a fight — and then he yells at me for starting a fight. I'm like, 'Bill, you told me to push the guy in the back.' It was classic Bill."
Campbell definitely wasn't a star over his 10 years in the league, but he was still valuable, and his ability to start fights for Parcells was one of many examples of Campbell's value.
Campbell spent three seasons with the Cowboys before moving on to play for the Lions for another three seasons. He began his career with the New York Giants, spending four seasons with the franchise.
MORE DETROIT LIONS NEWS
Lions predicted to ditch Za'Darius Smith reunion for 77-sack EDGE
Jared Goff has 6-word message for Tom Brady in new 'Quarterback' season
English (US)