LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET
December 19, 2025
On the two-point conversion from last night’s game between the Seahawks and Rams: “I haven’t seen – I heard, I haven’t seen it though.”
On if he will mention playing through the whistle to the team today after seeing the two-point conversion from last night’s game: “It’ll be something I know that (Lions Special Assistant Football Operations Don Muhlbach) Muhl had already hit me about it this morning, so it’ll be something that we hit on. But I have not seen the play yet.”
On Lions OL Graham Glasgow’s game status and what the center situation looks like if he cannot go: “Yeah, we’ll – that’s a good question. I mean we’ll see. We’ve obviously worked (Lions OL Trystan) Colon because he’s been there. I know he’s got the wrist, but he was out there working with it yesterday. Just trying to get Graham off his feet. But I mean we’ve worked (Lions OL Michael) Niese, we’ve worked (Lions OL) Kingsley (Eguakun). We’ve kind of just hit all around and we’re rolling the guards too. So, it’s really been a little bit of a revolving door trying to get a number of guys ready because there’s a lot of flex going into this game right now.”
On if he expects Lions OL Graham Glasgow to practice today: “I do not see Graham practicing today.”
On if Lions OL Christian Mahogany will have a chance to play on Sunday: “I’ll know more today. Yesterday, I thought he looked pretty good. Wasn’t perfect, but I thought he looked pretty good. And some of it’s going to be, I know he’s a little sore today and how he feels in today’s practice. That’s what a lot of it’s going to come down to.”
On how much he appreciates what Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin has done and the success he has had with the Steelers: “Yeah, I mean it’s special. I mean he’s – the work speaks for itself. I mean the number of winning seasons that they’ve had and competitive teams that he’s had and the nature of the way they play football, the brand of football year after year after year is rare. And in that division by the way. I mean that division has been so tough for a number of years. So, I just think it’s – he is, he’s a special coach. He’s one of these rare guys that he’s got it, and he’s been able to do it for a long period of time.”
On the challenge that Steelers WR DK Metcalf presents: “Well he’s very good as we know. He’s physical. He is a big, physical man. He gets the ball in his hands and if he gets a couple of steps, he’s still got the home run speed as we know. So, it’s interesting because he’s even a little different than some of these guys we’ve faced. Dallas – (Cowboys WR) CeeDee (Lamb) and (Cowboys WR) George (Pickens) over there and then what we’ve seen with (Rams WR Puka) Nacua and now him. He’s really different than those guys too in that regard. So, you’ve got to be careful because at any minute, he could go right down your midline and knock you about 10 yards deep and then he’s off on his route. So, you’ve got to prepare, you’ve got to challenge, I know that. You can’t just give off soft coverage on this guy. But the fight’s on. I mean this guy is, he’s a physical receiver.”
On if he has ever seen a tight end built like Steelers TE Darnell Washington: “Not since I’ve played. Didn’t know if these guys existed anymore. Yeah, he’s – he is, you don’t see guys like him anymore. He’s a big man. He looks like a power forward. He’s big, he’s long, he’s lean. But when I say lean, we know he’s about 300 pounds. So, it’s – I mean he’s a load. You can see his length – he engulfs guys in the run game. And then just the range that he’s got from his length on the seams and catching the ball and the run after catch, the stiff arm, the running over guys. I mean he is, he’s a load. He’s a different style of player that there is in this League right now.”
On how to prepare for someone like Steelers TE Darnell Washington: “Well, it’s difficult. Without being able to really pad up and just get out there and have somebody run over you. We could put pads back on (Lions T Penei) Sewell and just throw it to him and let him run over you a few times. It’s difficult. I mean you – look, our guys have banked a number of reps. I mean at this point in the season, there’s – (Lions LB) Jack (Campbell) has tackled somebody 143 times or whatever it is, you guys could tell me. Now, it is different, he is bigger. But I know this, it always starts with the first guy, ‘You’ve got to get this guy wrapped up. Grab something. And then we need population to the football. Your teammates are coming.’ And that’s really what it is. ‘(Lions CB) Rock (Ya-Sin) grab a calf, (Lions CB) Amik (Robertson), you guys get over there, get a ball out and teammates are coming.’ And that is the biggest help we could get is population to the football.”
On what have been some of the biggest challenges from a coaching perspective for the last stretch of games where there have been good things the team has done but they still find themselves on the outside of the playoff picture looking in: “Yeah, well, I think it’s the – as we all know – it’s the inconsistencies of some of the things that we’ve had that is frustrating. You never want to lose but when you feel like there are things that you’ve done to yourself, that’s where it gets real frustrating. It’s hard enough to win in this League against these real good opponents. But when you feel like sometimes you’re fighting yourself a little bit, that can be very frustrating. And so, we’ve had a little bit of that. There’s a number of circumstances, but I think that what I always go back to is there’s a million ways to get the point across and to teach. And just because it hasn’t hit yet, you just keep going through them. Go find something else. Keep working on something else. There’s always another drill that you haven’t done before. There’s always another way to say it that finally hits somebody and that’s what I keep my hope in because I know what that’s like sitting in those seats. I know what it’s like to be a coach. And so, I’ve seen it from all perspectives and you just keep working until you get yourself out of it.”
On how much of his confidence in this group stems from the experience gained down the stretch each of the last three years: “Yeah, a lot. I go back to the core of this team has been through a lot. They’ve been through a lot, they’ve been through it together too, which is where we’ve been fortunate. And most of the coaches have. Not all of them, but. Just the work yesterday, this is why I love these guys because they don’t – just like every team, we chart everything. You mark everything, you chart everything, you see their speeds, you see their change in direction, all of it, deceleration. And I mean it was some of the best we’ve had all year and it’s up there. And so, it just proves the point. Our guys go back to work. They don’t worry about it, they don’t sulk about it, they know that they’ve got to clean it up. They want to win as bad as anybody does. They’re the ones out there on the field, so you just give them something you feel like they can win with, they take a hold of it and then they bring it to life. So, we’ve got the right guys.”
On how much he enjoys that the League is trending back toward the old style of the run game and 13-personnel schemes and what the balance is in the offseason of guessing what trend is next and being ahead of it versus matching what the League is doing at a given time: “Yeah, well I think you’ve always got your own philosophy, what you believe in. You can never go too far away from that. But I think we’ll just go with a spread offense next year. That’s what we’re going to do. We’re going four wides, have our quarterback and we’re good. You’re asking me that today, so. No, we – you keep up with all of that stuff. I’m always going to be – there are things I believe in and principles but there’s always different ways to dress it up a little bit. So, I think you always have to evolve and find a better way to do it and try to keep defenses on their heels a little bit.”
On how pleased he is with what he is seeing from Lions WR Jameson Williams this season: “Hell, I mean I’m proud of him. I’m proud of him. And it’s all him. The amount of work he’s put in and the amount of stuff that he’s gone through – wherever it came. How it came, whether it was outside or it was his own doing, whatever the case is, he overcame all of it. And he just continues to – he’s grown so much. I mean he’s a vet. He’s a pro – the way he works, the way he digests the gameplan, what it means to him. He loves to compete, he wants to win and he’s just taken off. And man, his details are getting better. When you’ve got the athletic ability he has and now the other things begin to come in – the discipline of your route depth and the width and how you stop and where you come back to the quarterback, what (Lions QB Jared) Goff wants, what we’re looking for, all these things. I mean that first dagger he caught on third down where he got his width back on it, I don’t even know – I mean that’s big time. That’s huge because now Goff can anticipate it and let it go before the rush gets to him well before he’s even getting into the break. Because now he knows that he’s got the width to drop it in the window. And with his speed and ability to stop, it makes it very difficult. So, he’s grown a ton. I’m proud of him.”
