Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell has built the team from the ground up, rebuilding almost the entire roster and turning a bottom-dwelling team into a Super Bowl contender.
Campbell said this week’s opponent, the Kansas City Chiefs, have written the blueprint for what he wants his team to become. The Lions coach outlined the challenge of playing the Chiefs even despite their early-season struggles.
Dan Campbell Calls Chiefs the NFL’s Model of Success
Campbell shared some effusive praise for the Chiefs this week, noting that he has seen firsthand how difficult it is to build a contending team and keep them near the top every season. The Lions have won the NFC North in two straight seasons, but the Chiefs have won their division for nine consecutive years and reached the Super Bowl for three straight seasons.
âTo be able to come back year in and year out and stay hungry, stay competitive, do the right things, donât get complacent, eliminate entitlement when youâve been a champion over and over, I think that takes a special kind of group, a special kind of coaching staff, special kind of leadership, players, the whole thing,â Campbell said, via The Athletic. âAnd so, what theyâve done is special. Same (as) all those years New England had with Brady and Belichick.”
Campbell added that he has a lot of respect for Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and what he has built in Kansas City. The Lions coach added that he’s not taking the team lightly despite their struggles through a 2-3 start.
“That is so difficult to do, and so Iâve got the utmost respect for those guys. And thatâs why theyâre never out of it,” Campbell said. “Theyâre always going to have a chance because they have that makeup. They have that winnerâs makeup, that championâs makeup.â
Lions quarterback Jared Goff backed his coach’s comments, praising the Chiefs for their ability to stay at the top of the NFL for so long.
âThatâs certainly number one is the consistency over time,â Goff said. âI donât know how many in a row â AFC championships. Itâs incredible. And itâs hard to reload every year after playing a long season like that. So I think thatâs what you respect most is their ability over almost a decade now to reload every offseason and come back ready to go.â
Lions Face Big Opportunity
The Lions have a chance for a statement game against the Chiefs, just as their win in Kansas City in the 2023 season put them on the map as a Super Bowl contender. The Chiefs have struggled on offense and still have another week before a major piece of their passing attack — wide receiver Rashee Rice — returns from his six-game suspension.
The Lions stumbled out of the gate this season, losing to the Green Bay Packers in the season opener, but have reeled off four straight wins and have returned to the top of the division. A win over the Chiefs could give them even more space.
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