The dog days are over for the Detroit Lions, who spent three decades stuck in the wilderness as a bad or mediocre team.
Last season, they went 12-5 in the regular season, finished first in the NFC North and went to the NFC Championship Game, making it easily their best season since 1991.
Head coach Dan Campbell has gotten lots of praise for building a winning program in Detroit, and star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown praised Campbell’s leadership while on the “Pivot Podcast.”
“He’s one of the best leaders I’ve ever been around,” St. Brown said.
Campbell took over as Lions head coach for the 2021 season after he spent five years as an assistant head coach and tight ends coach for the New Orleans Saints.
In his first season at the helm, the Lions went 3-13, but in 2022, they won eight of their last 10 games, leading to big expectations for 2023.
They met those expectations, and thanks to Campbell, St. Brown and others, they have an offense that ranked near the top of the NFL in points, yards, touchdowns and first downs last season.
St. Brown had a whale of a season with 1,515 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns and was rewarded this offseason with a four-year, $120 million contract extension.
While the rest of the NFC, particularly the NFC North, has improved, at least on paper, the Lions should still have the firepower to stay on top of their division.
It is now time for Campbell to get them to take the next step, which would be to make their first-ever appearance in the Super Bowl.
