Dan Campbell deserves “the craziest alive” award in life. Now, regarding awards in professional sports, no accolade has lost its plot more than Coach of the Year. Seldom does it go to the league’s best bench boss — instead, it goes to whoever’s team exceeded expectations the most or overcame the most adversity throughout the season. In the NFL, that generally means a first-year head coach who remains largely unproven rather than an established name who has taken their team to the next level.

This season, though, needs to be an exception. There is one coach who has stood out in a league of his own, and it’s Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions. Campbell is currently the oddsmakers’ favorite to win the award, and assuming the Lions finish the regular season strong, it had better stay that way. Not only is he the leader of the team with the NFL’s best record at 12-1, but how he’s done it is extraordinary. Campbell is, in a word, different.

Dan Campbell’s Winning Philosophy

That was exemplified on Thursday night against the Green Bay Packers, when the Lions faced a fourth-and-inches inside of field goal range in the final minute of a tie game. Kicking a field goal from that position would have given Detroit the lead (assuming the kick was good) but also would have given the Packers a chance to drive down the field and make one of their own to send it to overtime.

Going for the extra yard gave the Lions a chance to run down the rest of the clock before kicking, with the risk that if they didn’t pick it up, a Packers score would cost them the win. Campbell went for it, got it, and the Lions won the game.

That is Campbell’s philosophy in a nutshell. He coaches to win the game, to a degree greater than perhaps anyone the NFL has ever seen. He brings a certain contagious passion and confidence to the sideline that empowers his entire team, and it’s reflected in the decisions he makes on the field.

Sometimes, they backfire. Most other times, they work, and the only proof one needs is that, as stated above, the Lions are 12-1. The Detroit Lions. The laughingstock of the NFL for virtually the entire history of the Super Bowl era. One of the worst teams in the league during Campbell’s first season at the helm. Twelve. And. One.

Making An Impact Beyond The Game

There are not enough words to describe the magnitude of what Campbell has built in Detroit. His leadership transcends sports, going far beyond wins and losses. He’s created an identity, a culture, a mindset centered around a standard of greatness, and he’s done it with a franchise where greatness has never been more than a pipe dream. There is no comparison for it in the modern NFL.

In fact, if there’s any historical coaching legend to whom Campbell draws similarities, the only name that seems appropriate is the late, great college basketball icon Jim Valvano. The man with the dream. The master motivator. The young, cocky gunslinger who instructed his players to practice cutting the nets down in preparation for winning a national championship. The outside-the-box tactician who pioneered the intentional foul strategy, which was seen as blasphemous and unsportsmanlike at the time. He didn’t care. He coached to win the game.

End Of My NFL Rant

Coaches like Campbell don’t come around often. NFL teams will surely attempt to recreate him in the coming years, and the inevitable disaster that will ensue is perhaps the only negative thing that can be said about him. There is no recreating Campbell, because it’s not his willingness to take risks that makes him so great.

It’s the powerful message of confidence that he instills in his players, allowing him to put them in positions where they can afford those risks. His sheer strength of will makes winning look easy, and it’s not normal. It reflects a natural-born passion for leadership, and when a coach encompasses that type of charisma, you can always tell they’re special.

Dan Campbell is one of the special ones. When the NFL announces its awards for the 2024 season, he deserves to be acknowledged as the Coach of the Year.