Why Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell Credits Giants for Helping Detroit

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell knows something about the New York Giants' inner workings and philosophies.

After all, he began his NFL career as a third-round draft pick out of Texas A&M for the Giants in 1999, turning into a brick wall of a tight end for that offense for which he played through 2002 before leaving via free agency for his hometown Dallas Cowboys.

But Campbell credited the Giants, against whom his Lions team held two days of joint practices during training camp, with helping to set the stage for a hard-fought 2024 season.

“That was the first real taste of kind of the perception, and I thought the Giants practiced hard, they brought it, there was a lot of energy, a lot of juice, and I thought that was good for us to get that and it’s like now you know what it’s going to be like all season,” Campbell told Lions beat reporter this week. 

“We handled it well, and I don’t feel like – we know that we’re going to get everybody’s best shot; we know that every week, and it doesn’t matter if it’s who we’ve played, what week it is, and our guys understand that.”

Under the old-school style coaching of Campbell, the Lions finished with a franchise best 15-2 record, that included setting a single -season franchise record with their 13th win in 2024.

Campbell and Giants head coach Brian Daboll share a professional connection. They worked together on the Miami Dolphins coaching staff in 2011, when Daboll was the Dolphins offensive coordinator, and Campbell was the tight ends coach on head coach Tony Sparano’s staff. 

Last summer’s joint practice was their second one in a row–the year prior, the Lions hosted the Giants before a preseason game–and it would not be surprising if the two teams make joint practices an annual affair so long as Daboll and Campbell are in charge.

On Saturday, Campbell’s Lions will host the Washington Commanders in the Divisional Round of the playoffs after having a bye. 

Campbell promises a loud environment for the visiting Commanders and a hard-fought effort from his team, whom he’s reminded all week that there’s only one thing that matters most ahead of the start of this run.

“I think the most important thing is that it doesn’t matter where you’re at, where you’re seeded, how many wins you’ve had, you have to stay hungry, and our team is hungry,” he said.