Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell referenced one of the greatest comedy films of all time when trying to explain the next evolution his team must make to bring the franchise their first Super Bowl title.
Heading into Lions OTAs this week there is a lot of excitement around the franchise. This time last year there were still questions on if their 9-8 finish in 2022 was a sign of big things to come or not. Well, winning 12 games this past season indeed confirmed that Detroit has returned to long-term relevancy.
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However, the team coming up one win short of their first trip to the Super Bowl earlier this year showed that there is still room for improvement heading into the 2024 NFL season. That was a topic of discussion on Thursday as Campbell used Will Ferrll’s iconic character Ron Burgundy to explain his hopes for the roster to become more instinctive in certain situations this season.
“Those are the little things where we can really grow offensively and defensively. Like the awareness of who’s in, what’s the situation. We know what it says on paper, but we can’t do the Ron Burgundy,” Campbell said, via SI.com. “We can’t just continue to read off the teleprompter. And, that’s the next step, that is the next evolution because that’s what San Francisco did to us, quite frankly. They played at a different level.”
- Dan Campbell record (Career): 29-33-1
In a memorable from the film, which can be found above, Burgundy is tricked by his lover-turned-enemy Veronica Corningstone when she uses his penchant for reading everything off the teleprompter — including mistakes — against him. In this instance he tells local viewers in San Diego to “Go [expletive] yourselves.”
The San Francisco 49ers have been a Super Bowl contender for much longer than the Lions and have the experience advantage to make big changes in huge moments. With Detroit entering their third straight season as a high-level squad having similar growth is very likely.
Dan Campbell has built a reputation on his unique approach to coaching and this is certainly another, albeit funny, example of what has made him a beloved figure for the Detroit Lions over the last few years.
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