Don’t come at Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell with any thought of tanking for draft position. Coach Campbell wants nothing to do with the concept. He’s trying to win every game he can with this 2021 Lions team and wants everyone to know it.
In an appearance on Good Morning Football on the NFL Network this week, the rookie coach talked about the importance of establishing a winning mindset and culture, something that has been notably absent in Detroit.
Campbell was asked how important it is to finish the season strong and build towards a bigger and better 2022 campaign. Does he believe that winning now will breed more winning later?
“I do, I do believe that,” Campbell said. “We’ve talked about all year that this, for us, needs to be about building a foundation. We’re concrete right now and there’s nothing glorious about it. It’s not always going to be fun. It’s hard work. There’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears in it. But you want to see it start to pay dividends and I feel like we’re starting to get there now.”
Coach Campbell continued,
“I do feel like it’s important to finish strong. We’re trending in the right way right now.”
He sees Sunday’s opponent, the Atlanta Falcons, as trying to accomplish the same thing. The 6-8 Falcons are also led by a rookie head coach in Arthur Smith and are trying to rebuild the roster after a couple of down seasons and a regime change.
“We’ve got a good opponent (the Falcons) and they’re in the same boat we are,” Campbell said. After showing respect to the Falcons’ new-look staff, Campbell still noted he wants to keep the winning momentum going.