Lions' Dan Campbell had perfect response to NFC Championship loss

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff recently explained how the "emotional IQ" possessed by Dan Campbell makes him the perfect head coach to handle the expectations hovering over the club coming off its 34-31 conference championship game loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

It turns out Campbell began thinking about matters related to that task even before he and his team left Levi's Stadium on the night of Jan. 28.

"I knew that the minute that clock went to zero in San Francisco, that was going to be the challenge. I already knew that," Campbell told NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated for a piece published late Tuesday night. "As disappointed as you are, you’re already into next year. You’re in a black hole. The movie, everything’s flying by you. You’ve gone so fast into the future, and you already know it’s going to be hard. It’s going to be a lot harder. The challenge that comes with it is you believe you’re going to be better. You should be."

Last September, the Lions entered a season as the betting favorites to claim the NFC North title for the first time since the division was formed in 2002. Detroit accomplished that mission with a 12-5 record, and Campbell's Lions later held a 24-7 halftime lead over the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game before San Francisco stormed back.

Of course, Campbell also knows what it feels like to be a rebuilding team that wants to make a statement against a top-tier opponent such as the 2024 Lions. After all, Detroit finished his first season in charge (2021) at 3-13-1, and the Lions then began the subsequent campaign at 1-6 before they won eight of their final 10 games.

"I know what it was like two years ago, three years ago—you’re throwing the kitchen sink at everybody. You’re throwing it at everybody," Campbell added. "Everything you’ve got in your arsenal, you’re going to throw. Anything you can possibly do, offense, defense, special teams, it doesn’t matter what it is. That’s what we’re going to get. You’re going to get a lot of unscouted looks, a lot of trickery. We’ve got to be able to overcome."

As of Wednesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Lions second among the betting favorites behind only the 49ers (+250) at +550 odds to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LIX.

Campbell told Breer that "complacency and entitlement" could prevent Detroit from reaching its ultimate goal, but it sounds like the 48-year-old has done just about everything possible to keep those potential problems out of his locker room ahead of September.