Ask former teammates, coaches he has or does work with, media members who cover the Detroit Lions and players he currently coaches, and you won't hear a bad word about Dan Campbell. And it's not a public facade, it's genuine in acknowledgement of how he did things as a player and how he operates all-around as a coach.
During last Sunday's 47-9 win over the Dallas Cowboys, the Lions reached deep into their playbook to use trick plays. It did feel a bit unnecessary at times, if only to maintain some level of mystery about what offensive coordinator Ben Johnson might have coming in the future. The Cowboys were embarrassed on their home field in a fashion they hadn't been under the ownership of Jerry Jones.
Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie is a friend of Jones', and a noted Cowboys' fan. He appeared on Sirius XM's "Mad Dog Sports Radio" with host Chris Russo on Thursday, and decided it was the moment to trash Campbell when Russo asked him if he had issues with how the Lions played last Sunday's game.
Chris Christie comes out of nowhere to trash Dan Campbell
“That’s Dan Campbell. He’s got no class, never has.”
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) October 17, 2024
Former NJ governor and Jerry Jones sycophant Chris Christie to @MadDogUnleashed on the Lions running trick plays against the Cowboys. pic.twitter.com/VlvrwQmNNq
"That's Dan Campbell. He's got no class, never has," Christie said. "It's fine. Dan Campbell, that's the way he is. And what goes around comes around. Look, I think that it's misdirected. Dan Campbell is angry because the referees got a call wrong in a game a year ago. Well then run that play on Roger Goodell, The Cowboys had nothing to do with the play being called incorrectly, it wasn't a challenge that the Cowboys made. It was a call the referees made. The Lions got hurt by it, the Cowboys benefitted from it. Because of that, you want to take your peak out while you're beating the hell out of these guys and rub it in. I don't think that's what pros do. But it's his perogative, it's the reputations that he'll care around the league and quite frankly it's his rep now."
As a Cowboys' fan, it's ok for Christie to be upset about what the Lions did to his favorite team last Sunday (four days later though, it might be time to be a grown up and move on). But to take it all the way to criticizing Campbell's character is a few steps too far. And how would Christie know what Campbell's "rep" is now? Did Jones, a self-appointed authority figure on everything he cares to have an opinion on, tell him that? Then again, as a former politician, the truth might still be an elusive concept for Christie.