On Saturday, a reporter revealed a social media post from running back Jahmyr Gibbs to Dan Campbell, which appeared to clearly show some offensive terminology. The Lions head coach did not seem thrilled about it, as expected, and when asked about it on Sunday he offered a "no comment."
It's safe to assume Campbell talked with Gibbs about the post, and in that sense being more aware of what he posts on social media. But there's the business of the stretch run of the regular season at-hand, and it's time to move on.
With a game coming against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night, Lions' players went back to work and Campbell made his weekly appearance on 97.1 The Ticket's "Costa and Jensen with Heather" Monday morning.
After reviewing the Thanksgiving Day game and talking about new players and injuries. Gibbs' social media post was an automatic topic for Campbell, and he broke his silence on the matter.
Dan Campbell puts Jahmyr Gibbs' situation all the way to bed
"I know what it is, but I’m like, you know what, we might as well just put everything out there. I don’t really give a crap. I mean, if we’re gonna lose because of code words, then we’re not good enough anyway. So, I think we’ll just post the whole freaking playbook out there and every code word we’ve got. It doesn’t matter. It’s not gonna hurt us, it won’t affect us. It’s all good," Campbell said.
At this point of the season, whatever the Lions' tendencies might be are out there on tape. Campbell acknowledged how there's no real secrets about what they're doing, but he also doesn't want people posting team stuff in public forums.
"No, there’s not. I mean, it’s on tape. You can get everything you need in any avenue. It’s on tape, the TV copy. You guys at home get more than we do until after the game, it’s crazy," Campbell said. "But listen, it’s all out there, and you can find everything that you need on the tape and how to attack people, how they’re gonna attack you. No, I’m not losing sleep over that. Now, do I want us posting stuff up from our locker room or our players, no, I don’t because you don’t know what’s gonna happen with something like that. But in the grand scheme of things, it’s not a big deal.”
Some internet instigators have pointed to Gibbs being in Campbell's doghouse or how he may face disciplinary action. When asked about that element, the head coach dropped a great punchline to fully convey the matter has been put to bed already.
"Yes, because he got on social media, I’m not going to play him anymore," Campbell joked. "We’re fine. As a matter of fact, I joked at him about it yesterday, I messed with him, so it’s good. I’m not even worried about it."
In a short span, Gibbs' social media post became widely known, then Campbell was made aware of it, he dealt with it privately and he put it to bed publicly. Other coaches might not have dealt with that quite that way, Campbell ultimately handled it pretty much as we knew he would.