LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET
November 25, 2025
Opening Statement: “Congratulations to (former Lions T) Lomas Brown, man, making the next (Hall of Fame voting) round here, semi-finalist. I’m not saying this because I’m with the Detroit Lions. To me, I don’t care what team he was on or how long he played or where he started, he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, man. Hell of a dude, hell of a player. Productive that long, that many years. Durability, production, the whole thing. Congrats to him, man. Onward.”
On the kind of teammate former Lions T Lomas Brown was when they played together in New York: “A great teammate, man. One of those you never forget. Look at him back there, there you go, brother. I didn’t even see you. Love you, dude. He was a great teammate. He was the guy that – he just wanted to help you. Whatever help – look, I’ll never forget, I’ve brought this up. We’re playing Washington. (Former NFL DE) Bruce Smith, we got like a play-pass, he’s right on my head, I’m like, ‘OK, here we go.’ Came up, he just swats me. Bruce Smith just freaking swats me, and there’s LB dude. Here’s there to help me. He’s like, ‘I got you.’ Really just covered for me when really, he had another job to do. He’s supposed to kind of help the guard, he comes back, he helps me. Unbelievable teammate, man. Always upbeat, never a bad day. Willing to do whatever for a teammate, and just a hell of a player, man. Productive player. A guy, you talk about reliability, dependability, that was him.”
On if he received clarification on the headset issue during Sunday’s game: “No, nope. Man, I haven’t had time for any of that. I don’t know what happened. Asked about it, I don’t know. I don’t know what happened.”
On what this week’s game means to him and the team: “It’s opportunity. I mean, this one’s about to be on us again, which that’s exciting. You ramp it back up. You’ve only got a few days, you’re trying to get everything in that you can to help your guys get ready to go. They’re in the right mindset, and then you just cut them loose, man, you let them go. Let them go play their game and show up and just compete. And that’s where our guys – that’s what they do, man, they do well. They show up, they compete, man. So, I think just big-time opponent, really good team, division game, Thanksgiving, first game on. You couldn’t ask for anything better.”
On Packers DL Micah Parsons: “He’s a good player, he’s a really good player. He’s a great player. He’s a great player. I like our tackles, I like our O-line. He’s a great player.”
On Lions EDGE Marcus Davenport and what it would mean for the team to get him back this week: “It would be big to be able to get him back. He’s done a lot to get back, the amount of work that he’s put in and the amount of rehab. And look, it’s not his fault things have happened. All you can do is go back to work and do everything you can to return and get your body healed up and come back better than you were. And he’s done everything that that requires. So, we’re hopeful. He walked through yesterday, he’s going to walk through again today, and we’ll see.”
On Lions WR Kalif Raymond and where he is at injury-wise: “It’s a little stiff here. It’s a little stiff. This is – a little stiff, a little swollen. There again, just see where he’s at really tomorrow.”
On if winning the game the way they did Sunday gives him more confidence in the team’s ability to survive and advance: “Man, I think anytime you’re able to win a game like that, things are not going the way that you want them to and you have to fight your way back, it means that guys just stay locked in one more time for the very next play and believe the next play is going to break it open and give you a chance. And I just think when you’re able to come back and win a game in that fashion, it speaks volumes of your team and where you’re at. I think it’s good for you to get those. You need one or two of those a year because you’re always tested. Every team gets tested. That one’s – those are tough. You’re down two scores in the fourth. To be able to do what we had to do in all three phases, I do think it can pay dividends for you.”
On Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs’ capabilities and what makes him so dynamic: “You can’t argue with everything that he’s able to do. He’s such a versatile player. I go back to this, it’s one of the reasons why – well, there’s many – that we loved him so much when he was coming out is that, man, forget the – which is a huge part of it – the ability that he has. He’s got some rare ability. But he’s smart, he’s a football guy, he can retain a lot of information. I mean, we put a lot on him now between the H and the F and pulling the receiver, and then he comes back, two back. He can take all that on and knows all of it. Knows all those jobs, and it doesn’t slow him down. He’s got instincts. He’s an instinctive football player. He’s got unbelievable vision for a runner. He knows how to set up blocks, and then he’s got the explosiveness and speed to finish. So, he’s got it all. And he can protect, and he can – so, he’s an outstanding player. How can you not use the guy and get him some touches? Get him a lot of touches? But you also – we’ve got plenty around him, too. And we’re going to use those guys as well.”
On his assessment of Lions WR Isaac TeSlaa and his growth: “We like where TeSlaa’s at. He’s had a ton of growth. And look, we went into this year saying, ‘Hey, let’s let this guy grow.’ There will be a place for him on special teams, and he’ll be a spot player on offense. And then once he proves that there’s more than that, then that’s what he is until then. Knowing that, man, he’s got room to grow and we love the clay. We love to be able to mold that clay. And (Lions Assistant Head Coach/Wide Receivers) Scottie (Montgomery)’s done a hell of a job. He’s gotten better and better and better. And we are, we’re asking him to do more. And so, I do believe it’s going to come. I do believe he’ll get an uptick in production, he’ll get used a little bit more here. But I like where he’s at, he’s doing a good job.”
On the balance of taking the deep shot on offense and the risk involved versus keeping the defense honest: “You’re always playing that balance. If you don’t take shots, then they just sit on you and they can make it difficult. But also, sometimes to take those shots, you’ve got to hold the ball for a while depending on what you really want to do. So, there is a risk/reward, and if you don’t, then you’ve got to be able to – within the next two downs, you’ve got to find a way to convert for the next round, for the next first down and the next reload on the downs. But you’ve got to have both, you’ve got to be willing to do a little bit of both.”
On if he sees Lions S Kerby Joseph playing in the game this week: “Yeah, I don’t see Kerby this week.”
On how challenging it is to hold a player back due to injury who wants to be ready to go: “It’s very difficult, but to Kerby’s credit, man, he is rehabbing, he’s putting in the work, he knows that the work he’s putting in now will hopefully keep us from having to ride this wave up and down where, ‘OK, he’s back, now he’s not able to go.’ That’s kind of what all this is about is man, getting him to a point we strengthen some of these – stabilize some of this, the muscles in this area and get him to where, ‘Alright, here we go, man.’ Doesn’t mean it’s going to alleviate some of the pain, but it’s going to make him feel a lot better and he will be more than functional. He will be able to produce and be ready for the next week.”
On what the team needs to do better in third-and-long situations on defense: “Well, I would say it’s – I hate to say it, but I am saying. It’s one thing here, it’s one thing there. Some of it has been penalties, it’s the way we play and we’re not going to go away from the way we play. That’s the style that we’re going to challenge. Some of it, if we are going to pressure, we don’t always get home. So, I mentioned this the other day, you get strung out. That happened a few times. We had a couple of things, just tackling in space that got us. But when you go across the board and you look at them in totality, it’s really one guy here, one guy there. And so, there again, we’ve just got to play as one. We want them in second-and-long, we want them in third-and-long. We’ve got to be better, and we will be better. We’ll be better.”
On his key to a perfect Thanksgiving plate: “Key to the perfect plate. That’s a tough one. I don’t know, I guess I would say variety. That’s pretty vanilla, right? Pretty boring. Variety is the key to the – or if you’re giving me one, give me ham. Ham is the key to the perfect plate. I know there’s a lot of turkey lovers out there. Unless it’s fried turkey, I’m all about fried turkey.”
