Now entering his third season as Detroit Lions head coach, we know what to expect from Dan Campbell. He sometimes talks in "coach speak", as any coach does at times, but for the most part he's refreshingly honest compared to his peers. There's no avoiding questions from the media with non-answers. Sometimes, his answers are revealing when they may not have been intended to be (see his comments about D'Andre Swift at the NFL Combine).
Campbell had his press conference to open training camp Sunday morning. Via ESPN's Eric Woodyard, he was open about the thing that worries him most right now.
"I think as always, the thing that's gonna worry you is the hype train," "I mean, as with most coaches, this thing is just taking off and it's out of control right now and that's fine, as long as we stay focused on the job at hand and the work. I just keep going back to that. We've got to put the work in and earn it.""Dan Campbell
Dan Campbell has a plan to keep the hype train from derailing the Lions' season
The buzz around the Lions is hard to ignore, in and out of the building. But the team seems well-equipped to handle the hype, and keep it at bay, with enough veteran players in place as leaders and Campbell leading a staff of former players to keep guys in check.
Campbell added, however it may be obvious, what he can do to tame the wild hype train around the Lions.
""I think you just keep the message consistent, and you call it what it is, and it just goes back to the work," "And when you see it not going that way or we have some guys that are deviating a little bit, or they think they've arrived and they haven't, you call them out on it.Dan Campbell
"I think as long as we do that as coaches and players as teammates, we'll be fine.""
It's easy for Campbell to say what he said about the team having to focus on the work that's necessary if they're going to meet lofty expectations this year. But his words will certainly be put into practice, independent of what the results become.