USAT: Lions Wire audio clip

USAT: Lions Wire

Feb 2, 2022

Dan Campbell is a unique coach, but the fingerprints of his longtime mentor, Sean Payton, are readily apparent. Campbell spent several years as both a player and a coach under Payton’s watchful eye in New Orleans with the Saints. - Now that Payton has stepped away from coaching, Campbell was liberated to talk about how much influence he took from his longtime boss. - “Sean was my mentor, man,” Campbell told the Detroit media on Wednesday. “I think the world of him. I learned more under Sean than any other head coach in my time as a player. I was with him for eight of my 11 years as a player under him, and then to coach under him for five years. I got both facets of it, as a player and a coach. And so really everything that I am, or what I’m about, or how I think, really does come from him in a sense.” - One of Campbell’s more notable traits as a rookie head coach in Detroit was his compassionate and emotional interaction with his Lions players. Campbell drew a direct line back to Payton as an influence. - (Payton) knew how to pull the most out of his players, he knows how to put his players in a position to have success better than anyone I’ve ever been around,” Campbell stated. “He knows how to use the totality of the roster on game day. And man, I think his ability to know, hey, this is what this player needs. This player needs a boot in the rear, or this player needs a hug, or just how to motivate. Those are things you never forget.” - - - - - - - - - - - - Email - - - - - Sign up - - - - - - - - Like this article? - Sign up for the Lions Wire email newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning - - - - An error has occured - - - Please re-enter your email address. - - - - - - Thanks for signing up! - - - You'll now receive the top Lions Wire stories each day directly in your inbox.

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