Giants head coach Brian Daboll once interviewed Lions head coach Dan Campbell, and it went just about as you’d expect.
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell and New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll will lead their teams as head coaches against each other on Sunday. But the two go further back, to working on the Miami Dolphins coaching staff more than a decade ago.
Campbell got immediate attention during the press conference introducing him as Lions head coach with his “knee biting” quote. He has remained relatable, generally likeable and quotable ever since.
In 2011 Daboll was Miami’s offensive coordinator, and he was of course doing interviews for position coaches who would work under/with him. On the recommendation of head coach Tony Sparano, he interviewed Campbell to be the team’s tight ends coach. Campbell worked as a coaching intern for the Dolphins in 2010 after retiring as a player.
On Wednesday, Daboll recalled his first meeting with Campbell. Safe to say he couldn’t have forgetten it all these years later.
Brian Daboll has the most ‘Dan Campbell’ story ever
Via the New York Post:
"Tony said, ‘Hey, I got this guy that I think would be good. Why don’t we interview him? You take care of the interview.’ So, I interviewed Dan, and it was a great interview,” “He’s slamming chairs on the ground and hitting walls and going through all these drills. You guys know him. He’s a fantastic person, great family. It was an entertaining interview. [He] knew a lot. Obviously, he was very passionate, tough as nails, you could tell. He was out of breath in half that interview with the stuff he was doing. Yeah, great guy.”"
Of course, there’s more.
Daboll, then the Dolphins OC, interviewed Dan Campbell for the TE coaching job in 2011. Daboll said Campbell slamming chairs and hitting walls, was out of breath for half of the interview.
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) November 16, 2022
Campbell got the job ... and was in the next day at 5:30 am power cleaning and squatting.
Daboll and Campbell only worked together that one year in Miami, but have remained friendly since. Campbell coached five seasons with the Dolphins, finishing the 2015 season with a 5-7 record as interim head coach.
It should surprise exactly no one that Campbell made his first interview for a full-time coaching job a memorable one for the interviewer. Into his second season as Lions’ head coach now, it was not merely a show–it was and is a reflection of who he is.