(This story was updated to add new information.)
Moments after the San Francisco 49ers rallied to defeat the Detroit Lions in last season's NFC championship game, people started showing up at Dan Campbell's Michigan home.
Campbell, the Lions head coach, and his wife Holly were in California on that late January night earlier this year. But their daughter and her boyfriend were at the family's Bloomfield Township home . While no one entered their property, it got to the point where the boyfriend went outside and flashed the headlights on his own vehicle in an effort to get people to leave.
At this point, the Campbells knew their address was public: Contractors showed up at their home after the team lost to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 17 of the season, apparently sent by a frustrated fan.
The night of the heartbreaking, season-ending loss to San Francisco , far from home and nervous, Dan and Holly Campbell told their daughter to leave the house with her boyfriend.
As local police investigated, the NFL and Lions started looking around as well. Just before midnight after the Lions' loss, the head of the team's security called Bloomfield Township police to apprise them of the situation. About an hour later, a representative from the Detroit division of the NFL security department called police again, this time with new information.
He knew about a message from the social media platform Snapchat, one made by a schoolmate of Dan Campbell's daughter. The message included the coach's name, home address and a simple, if crass, message apparently referencing some of Campbell's coaching decisions: "Dumb f--- trying to go for it."
Watch: Dan Campbell postgame speech after Detroit Lions' 'gritty' win at Arizona Cardinals
The details of that night, chronicled in a police report obtained by the Detroit Free Press in response to a request under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act, outline the concerns that ultimately prompted Campbell and his family to move. While Campbell recently confirmed his family's decision and briefly referenced the release of his home address, the report includes information not previously disclosed to the public.
A Lions spokesman did not immediately return a phone message Monday evening. Campbell reiterated his love for the Lions fanbase during Friday's weekly news conference, where he discussed his family's move.
"It’s all good and I have a job to do. My primary job here is to coach this team and have them prepared every week and I have to do my job. That’s the sole focus," Campbell said Friday .
Police released four reports connected to Campbell's address since he rejoined the Lions as head coach in 2021. One is in connection to the contractors after the Cowboys game, the other three tied to harassment following the playoff loss. Key details, including names and other personal information, are redacted.
The reports following the 49ers loss show police quickly focused on the snapchat that included the family's address. Eventually police met with the teen who created the snapchat, and his father.
The teen said he'd watched the game with friends. They were "distraught from the loss and needed to clear their heads," he said. At some point, he said he saw a different post with the address calling for people to egg Campbell's house. He took the address and used it to make his own post, he told police.
Later, security from the boy's school told police they also believed he and friends drove to the house. They "were yelling not nice things toward the house before they drove off," the head of security told police.
More: Lions vs. Seahawks prediction, odds: Detroit has one key advantage over Seattle
Police determined the boy did not commit a crime, and called Holly Campbell to tell her. She told police she understood, but was afraid, "next season people will know when her husband is out of town and try to take advantage of that."
Law enforcement monitored the area after the Campbells reported the harassment following the San Francisco game. Two days after the loss, police found an empty car sitting on the side of the road in front of their home. But it was a false alarm: a man soon arrived and told police the car belonged to his daughter but it broke down, so he had it towed.
The family already lives in their new home in Oakland County, Crains Detroit recently reported. The Bloomfield Township house, built for and previously owned by former Detroit Red Wings center Igor Larionov , is already under contract, according to Crains.
Reach Dave Boucher at dboucher@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Police reports shed light on harassment that prompted Lions coach Dan Campbell to move
Local News
