Dan Campbell's introductory press conference is nearly as iconic a moment in Detroit Lions lore as the franchise's first trip to the NFC Championship Game since 1991.
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Campbell laid down the gauntlet for what he wanted his team to become, when he was hired back in 2021.
"This city has been down. It's found a way to overcome adversity," Campbell told reporters. "This team is going to kick you in the teeth ... and when you knock us down, on the way up we're going to bite a kneecap off ... and we're going to get up ... and if you knock us down again, we're going to get up and bite off the other kneecap."
On Sunday, January 21, 2024, four years to the date that Campbell was hired, the Lions knocked off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-23, in the NFC Divisional Playoffs.
At Ford Field, a fan had a brilliant sign, harkening back to Campbell's introductory press conference.
Manifestation 🦁 pic.twitter.com/DfdIDmkwZ1
— NFL (@NFL) January 21, 2024
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After finishing just 5-7 in 12 games as the Miami Dolphins' head coach in 2015, six years later, Campbell found the perfect match for his temperament, the city, and the players in his locker room, with the Lions.
The sign the fan brought into Ford Field embodies much of what Campbell has brought to the Lions, since his hiring.
Campbell hasn't just changed the culture around the Lions, crafting a hyper-competitive culture in the Motor City, but in his first three seasons has guided the Lions to the doorstep of the Super Bowl.
Next up for the Lions, the No. 3 seed in the NFC, is a trip to Santa Clara, Calif., to take on the No. 1 seed San Francisco 49ers for the right to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LVIII.
