If you watched Dan Campbell’s press conference prior to the Detroit Lions’ third OTA practice on Friday, it wouldn’t be hard to notice a tonal shift. When Campbell steps in front of the lectern, he usually has a contagious energy to him. He’s excited, he’s light, and typically has a lot to say. But on Friday morning that jovial attitude was replaced by a straight-to-the-point, direct, and no-nonsense approach.
At first, it was relatively subtle. He tried to get ahead of the injury updates by providing
a boilerplate “they’re all improving” answer—something he’s been gradually moving toward since perhaps providing too much information early in his Lions tenure. Then he offered his warning to media and fans to not read too much into OTA reporting.
In a vacuum, none of that is too out of the ordinary. It’s a little more dismissive than Campbell usually is, but it certainly isn’t completely out of character.
Where things took a notable turn was when I asked a question about early offseason standotus. Working off of Jack Campbell’s recent comments that the new offseason additions have already brought a “refreshing” hunger to the team, I asked if there was anyone among the new faces who have stood out during the offseason program.
Dan Campbell wasn’t having any part of that question.
“There have been a lot of guys that have done really well, for two days in pajamas,” Campbell said. “And then there are some that are learning through it, they’re working through it, they’re learning. But I’m done with the hype of the pajama party in May.”
Then he was asked about which position group has improved its depth the most.
“Yeah, there’s a lot. Yeah, I’m sure you want to know what they are,” Campbell said, without ever providing any clarity.
Later he was asked about Levi Onwuzurike, who’s coming off a lost season to a torn ACL.
“I like where Levi’s at, alright. And I’ll leave it at that,” Campbell said. “He’s working, he feels good. I’m not hyping anybody up, not in May, it’s not worth it.”
Compare these answers to last year. For example, when Campbell—and just about every other coach—hyped up Jameson Williams.
“We expect him to have a huge season. We really do, man,” Campbell said on May 30 last year. “He’s going to be one of these guys that we’re going to lean on this year and is really going to be big for us.”
Or the way Lions coaches were talking about Terrion Arnold and the offseason he was having.
“Terrion Arnold took a huge leap, in my opinion, this offseason,” defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said one week into training camp. “He progressed during his rookie year, but he’s come in, not only this offseason but this training camp, looking like a different guy.”
The messaging this offseason has been clear, concise and consistent: no talk, all business:
Last year’s 9-8 season, falling short of the playoffs, clearly did a number on this organization. From the beginning of the offseason, they promised a complete and thorough investigation on their own processes to see what needed to change about their approach. They discarded their local pro day, rookie minicamp, and joint practices. Brad Holmes hunkered down during the pre-draft process, skipping the owners meetings entirely to use his time more efficiently.
But this public-facing, no-nonsense approach seems the most drastic of them all. While this team has always been about blocking out the outside noise, Campbell and his crew seem intent on ensuring that no hype or expectations seeps through the cracks of the building.
“Just getting back to a little bit of the no nonsense,” Campbell said. “It’s a lot easier when nobody knows who you are. I’m talking about us as a team and all that, because now you kind of fly right under the radar. But then the better you do, the more you do, the more hype, the more you’re doing this, you’re doing this, this player gets paid, this coach, this whatever, this coach moves on now. And it’s all this other stuff that has nothing to do with what got us to that point that gave everybody—we all reaped the benefits of that.
“It’s just a little bit, let’s get back to that, man. Let’s just get back to the business of what it is. It’s about football first and foremost, and it’s about the guy next to you. That’s it, that’s it.”
As always, talk is cheap in May. Even a lack of talk is cheap. If the wins don’t come in 2026, the “strictly business” messaging will fall right there with the failures of “Dagger Time” or “It Takes More.”
But credit to Campbell for recognizing a need for a change in focus and taking some real, tangible steps to adapt and evolve.
