Lions Coach Dan Campbell Sends Clear Message on Facing Chiefs
The Detroit Lions are switching things up with an unexpected roster change just a few days before their Kansas City Chiefs game.
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.
“To be able to come back year in and year out and stay hungry, stay competitive, do the right things, don’t get complacent, eliminate entitlement when you’ve 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,” Campbell said, via The Athletic. “And so, what they’ve 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 I’ve got the utmost respect for those guys. And that’s why they’re never out of it,” Campbell said. “They’re always going to have a chance because they have that makeup. They have that winner’s makeup, that champion’s makeup.”
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.
“That’s certainly number one is the consistency over time,” Goff said. “I don’t know how many in a row — AFC championships. It’s incredible. And it’s hard to reload every year after playing a long season like that. So I think that’s what you respect most is their ability over almost a decade now to reload every offseason and come back ready to go.”
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.
Red Sox great, two-time All-Star dies after battle with cancer
Former Boston Red Sox star Mike Greenwell has died, the organization announced on Thursday. He was 62 years old.
Greenwell had been battling thyroid cancer, according to The Boston Globe.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Red Sox Hall of Famer Mike Greenwell,” the Red Sox posted on X.
“‘The Gator’ spent his entire career in a Red Sox uniform and was a beloved fixture of Fenway and Fort Myers. He gave so much to Lee County and Sox Nation. We send our love to the Greenwell family.”
Mike Greenwell played Major League Baseball for 12 years, all with the Red Sox. He earned MLB All-Star honors in 1988 and 1989 and was also named a Silver Slugger Award winner in 1988.
He finished his career hitting .303 with 130 home runs and 726 RBIs.
“He was a great teammate and an even better person,” former Red Sox right-handed pitcher Bob Stanley said, according to the Associated Press. “He had big shoes to fill in left field, and he did a damn good job. He played hard and never forgot where he came from -- Fort Myers. Just a great guy. We’ll all miss him.”
After his MLB career, Greenwell transitioned to auto racing, according to the AP.
He started off competing in late-model stock cars, before transitioning to NASCAR’s Truck Series.
Later in his life, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Mike Greenwell to the Lee County Board of County Commissioners.
