Dan Campbell Press Conference — Nov. 11, 2026

[0:39] How's it going? [0:41] Good. [0:41] Okay, so, you know, real good team here. [0:46] You know, I know the record is not what is the true indication of what this team is. [0:55] You know, there's a number of things that go into that, you know, that Green Bay game [1:01] the other day. [1:03] I mean, love was on a heater and, you know, and it was just kind of one of those things [1:08] that happens, but that's not, you look at the totality of what this team is capable of, [1:14] the firepower they have, and they're a good team. [1:17] They're dangerous, and they're going to clean a lot of things up. [1:19] So I think Vrabel's a hell of a coach and his staff. [1:24] You know, Josh and those guys have done a hell of a job. [1:26] Drake is, I mean, he's as good as they come getting out of the pocket right now. [1:32] I mean, he's playing, that's where he's very, very dangerous. [1:34] He's buying time, you know, these five-plus-second throws, he's dangerous. [1:41] And then the skill he's got around, you know, 3-18, and then they got Hollis back now [1:47] and the tight end, so it's potent. [1:52] It is very potent. [1:54] You know, we got our hands full. [1:56] And then defensively, they're kind of a lot like us, man. [1:58] They don't want you to run the ball on them. [2:01] They're going to, you know, make sure that they stop the run. [2:05] You know, they are disruptive. [2:07] They're long. [2:07] They got versatility at the D-line. [2:08] Man, there's a wave of guys. [2:10] They got, you know, two or three deep wave of guys that are good football players across the board, [2:16] you know, that create havoc. [2:19] And then, you know, here comes the pressure. [2:21] Here comes a lot of sticky man coverage, make you make accurate throws with people in your face, [2:26] and make contested catches, you know. [2:28] And so really the big thing right now is just the turnover ratio. [2:33] I mean, that's it. [2:34] You know, get a couple more and taking care of it, man, this is totally different. [2:40] You know, it's from, that's a five and four record to, you know, six and three or even better than that. [2:48] So it makes a difference. [2:51] So we understand the challenge here. [2:54] It's a very good team. [2:55] It's a competitive team. [2:56] They're going to clean up a lot of things, and we've got to be ready to go. [2:59] But this is day one of it. [3:00] We'll be out here, do a little walkthrough, then we'll practice, do a short practice, get some guys moving around, [3:07] and then be ready to go. [3:09] Questions? [3:10] I'm familiar to grueling stretches of the schedule with some of the Thanksgiving stuff in the past. [3:17] This is a very grueling stretch. [3:19] So I'm just wondering, how much can this be something that prepares you for the stretch run of the season, [3:26] these next two, three weeks? [3:29] Well, I think, yeah, I think that is exactly what it is. [3:34] It does help you. [3:36] You know, I think it just continues to build the character of your team, [3:41] the type of team you want to have as you go through this, [3:44] and everything that you are able to overcome makes you stronger, you know. [3:49] And certainly if you don't have the success, you continue to improve, you're gaining something from that. [3:56] Now, we all want the wins. [3:57] I mean, that's what we're going out there for. [3:58] But just in general, yeah, it does, you know. [4:03] And it's a good thing to be tested during the season. [4:06] It really is. [4:08] And to have to go through some of these tough stretches because that's what the playoffs are. [4:11] That's what it is. [4:14] And certainly if you've got to go on the road. [4:17] So, you know, that's what this is. [4:21] This is about us. [4:22] This is the next obstacle we have. [4:24] I've told the team we're not going to clear it. [4:25] Our objective is to go through it. [4:27] And that's the mindset. [4:30] The stretch run, you guys are obviously closing in on that trade deadline yesterday. [4:34] Didn't make any moves. [4:35] How well positioned do you think you are for that to have success in January? [4:39] Yeah, I feel good. [4:40] You know, we love our guys, man. [4:44] I love our guys. [4:46] And these guys are competitive. [4:47] There's been constant improvement, consistent improvement. [4:53] And, you know, we're pretty good with depth right now, you know. [4:58] And so I think we're in a good spot here, man. [5:03] As long as these guys just keep improving, keep trying to correct all the little things, [5:09] and we keep gaining confidence and finding ways to win. [5:13] That's what it's about. [5:14] Big picture of things. [5:16] You know, most other NFC contenders made a splashier move than you guys did here the last couple weeks. [5:21] What does that mean to you in the context of, you know, the rest of the season? [5:25] Yeah. [5:26] I mean, that's – nothing. [5:30] You know, I mean, we've got to get ready to play New England. [5:32] And I know what our squad looks like. [5:34] I know who they are. [5:35] And we're going to have them ready to play and be ready to compete. [5:40] That's what I know. [5:42] The last four games defensively kind of inform your approach. [5:49] I don't know. [5:51] I mean, certainly we played better, you know, but I think we felt like we would play better. [5:58] You know, there was always this – you can't explain it when you're out there and you're watching it. [6:04] And it's like, man, what – but we knew internally we could get better with the crew we had, man. [6:11] And so there again, made a couple of moves and then just kept, you know, those guys kept cleaning up some of the little issues. [6:20] And then, like I said, man, the trust goes up, the confidence goes up. [6:23] And then we start playing more as a unit, you know, more as one, if you will, particularly defensively. [6:30] And the rush and the coverage go hand in hand. [6:32] Now it's starting to play together. [6:33] So – and so when you're doing that, then you're like, okay, it's what we thought it would be. [6:41] You know, this isn't a fire alarm now, you know. [6:44] So not that we felt that way, but certainly, you know, when you're seeing it, it's like, all right, do we need some help? [6:51] Do you not? [6:53] And a lot of things were looked at. [6:55] But, yeah, we feel pretty good right now. [6:59] And getting Cisco will help us. [7:00] On that note, the D-line's been a strength all season, especially at rushing four. [7:05] As Nolan referenced, secondary's been a lot better over the past month. [7:08] When you look at either the changes you guys have made there or the bodies you've gotten back, [7:12] what gives you the most confidence that the secondary you've seen for the past month is sustainable, [7:16] is the one that you'll get for the next two, three months? [7:18] Well, it's probably – I would give you the same probably answer that I would give you [7:24] if you asked me about our O-line, is that I know we're ascending. [7:29] I know we're ascending. [7:30] We're continuing to get better, you know. [7:33] You know, we know what Hutch is. [7:37] We see the elevation of Mack coming up, being healthy. [7:41] And then Sky gets better every week. [7:44] Ty Leek gets better every week. [7:47] Derek Moore is getting better every week. [7:49] Wanham is adjusting well to what we're doing. [7:53] He's elevating. [7:56] So when you're getting all this production out of those guys, we're getting production out of Levi. [8:02] You know, he's a role player for us, but he comes in and he bangs some valuable reps for us, some hard reps. [8:07] So I like that, man. [8:10] When your bigs are getting better, you're producing right now, and you feel like you're getting better, [8:15] and now you can trust these – a little bit what I just said with New England, the wave of guys. [8:19] Like, here we go. [8:20] Let's roll them. [8:21] That's a good thing. [8:22] Make a move for Cisco without at least some kind of plan, Dan. [8:27] So I'm just curious, like, what's the acclimation process for him, [8:30] and do you see a defensive role for him once he's acclimated or brought up to speed? [8:35] Yeah, I mean, we would like to get him going ASAP. [8:38] You know, he's – we'd like to get him going. [8:41] He's obviously going out to Germany with him. [8:44] Our plan is to get him going in this game and let him help us a little bit. [8:48] But how much, that's not quite there yet. [8:51] But we do have a plan for him to help us. [8:55] Any other guy? [8:56] Understanding how much did long-term, like, in the uncertainty surrounding Jack's situation [9:03] and also Kirby's situation, the trade deadline discussions and your ability to make a move? [9:10] Yeah, I mean, I think that's one of the reasons we got Cisco, you know, [9:14] is it's good to see where Kirby's at right now. [9:17] He's, you know, we're going in another week here of him. [9:21] We're about to get a couple of days of work, two or three days of work, football work with him. [9:26] No setbacks, that's a good thing. [9:28] But we also, you know, we've got to be mindful. [9:30] We may need depth here. [9:32] And so that one has been on our mind. [9:35] And, Jack, absolutely we talked about it. [9:38] You know, we like that room a lot, and we do have some depth. [9:41] But what happens is, is now those, you're getting, you know, Barnes is taking on more. [9:46] Rodrigo's taking on more. [9:48] Now's taking on more. [9:49] And so that's not really the biggest issue. [9:52] It's what's helped. [9:54] Now it's special teams. [9:55] You know, so how do we replenish? [9:57] We get the depth. [9:58] So absolutely our eyes were there. [10:00] We were looking at it, looking at things, and it didn't work out, you know. [10:06] And we're going to get Devin White back here at some point. [10:10] I know this might be necessary, but was that also kind of in the calculus as you guys were [10:20] debating on the situation with Jack and Kirby? [10:24] Yeah, everything gets looked at. [10:25] Everything. [10:28] Mays, Reed, Wanham, any of those guys' possibility this week? [10:33] So, Wanham, he's cleared his first obstacle, second obstacle here. [10:40] So he's going to be able to practice today. [10:42] As long as he gets through practice, he should be good to go. [10:45] You know, so that's encouraging. [10:46] I don't see Cade and Reed practicing today. [10:52] I don't see them practicing today. [10:54] They're probably – they got a way outside shot of playing, way, way, way outside shot. [10:58] You know, it could. [11:03] Honestly, for both of them, it's really more about do we feel like they could play or not play, [11:07] more than the true travel for them. [11:11] Yeah. [11:13] Do you have a chance to get back into the starting lineup or is that just – is that [11:17] ball in his court this week? [11:19] Yeah. [11:19] Yeah, he's got – yeah, for sure he's got a chance. [11:22] That was good this morning. [11:23] He was good this morning. [11:25] I'm going to ask who your starting left guard is right now. [11:28] Do you have a starting left guard today? [11:33] Do we have a starting left guard? [11:35] Yeah. [11:36] I mean, Mahogany's going to go out there and he'll start with the first unit. [11:40] I just want to ask, I mean, a great storyteller. [11:43] Have you ever been to Germany? [11:44] Do you have any stories to start Germany? [11:45] Never, never. [11:47] As far as I've been across the pond is London, and that was for this. [11:51] And I already mentioned, I had an extra pair of underwear and socks, and that was it. [11:56] All right. [11:57] And a toothbrush. [11:59] But that's as far as I've been over there. [12:01] Yeah. [12:03] All right. [12:04] Thank you, thanks. [12:04] Thank you, John. [12:05] Guten Tag. [12:56] Wir leben Deutschland und Amenra. [13:01] Nachfragen, danke. [13:04] Are there any questions? [13:07] It took me about 10, 15 minutes. [13:09] I had to go through it with Saint and make sure that it hit some of the marks that it [13:13] was supposed to hit. [13:14] And a lot tougher than I thought. [13:17] A little bit of a tougher language. [13:19] But all in all, man, we got a business trip. [13:21] We're getting ready to go across and play a really, really good football team. [13:24] Our guys are excited for a lot of reasons, man. [13:27] You know, not just Saint, but a lot of our players will be a first opportunity for them [13:31] to, you know, even travel abroad, some of them. [13:33] And it's just a wonderful opportunity for our league, but for our organization, and also [13:39] some of our guys who go out and put it on display no matter where we are, trying to [13:43] put out a good play, a good brand of football. [13:45] Have you, I just asked, Dan, have you ever been to Germany? [13:48] And what stories, if any, do you have? [13:50] Yeah, so long ago, not Munich. [13:52] So this will be a first time. [13:54] And then, so I don't have any, like, really, you know, big stories or anything. [13:58] But I think all of us are just directly connected to how we play. [14:02] So the best story in the world that we can come back with is a win. [14:07] The NFL is, you know, big on this international travel, right? [14:11] They're expanding the schedule. [14:12] How do you feel about that in general, what it does for the game? [14:15] And also, I don't know if there's any negatives at all it takes on players from your experience [14:19] around it. [14:19] Yeah, we're not necessarily connected to any of the negative or even thinking about the [14:23] negative part of it. [14:24] I just kind of look at it from this standpoint. [14:26] You know, all three of my sons, they really love soccer, right? [14:29] They love soccer. [14:30] Of course, they love football, but they love soccer as well. [14:33] And, you know, it'll be quite an experience, not only for us, but for the fans. [14:38] I'm just thinking about what it would be like for my kids if, you know, Madrid, Real, someone [14:42] was coming over and playing here. [14:45] And they get to go a chance to watch them and how they would want to perform. [14:48] So there are a lot of, you know, positives that have come with it and just growing our [14:52] game, but also the ability to, you know, be on stage, be on a different stage, and then [14:57] move the brand forward, not just the, you know, the league brand, but individually, our [15:01] players and then our organization. [15:03] And then just making sure that people understand what a good brand of football looks like. [15:07] Obviously, at this season, I mean, how would you assess the offense? [15:12] What do you think you guys have done really well? [15:13] What do you think you guys could improve, I guess, at this point? [15:17] You know, there's been some ups, there's been some downs. [15:20] You know, fundamentally, we do have to grow in a lot of the things that we do. [15:24] Schematically, we're growing now to the point of where we're knowing each other a lot better. [15:27] We've had some new pieces kind of placed in different spots. [15:30] Our O-line being able to play together a little bit more now, we can understand some of the [15:34] things that go with that. [15:36] So as we move forward, we'll continue to see the jail of our offense. [15:39] But also, we have the ability now to kind of see who our playmakers are, the guys that [15:44] can show up now at this time of the year, 8, 9, you've seen some guys make some critical [15:48] fourth down plays, some critical third down plays. [15:51] We know exactly who we are at the quarterback position. [15:53] Our skill is continuing to grow. [15:55] And now, you know, just collectively, once we start to jail, we've got to get rid of [15:58] some of the small things that we're doing, some of our details, some of our, maybe [16:02] the third down execution, we'll be better at that as we move forward. [16:06] So there are things that, you know, after this time, you can really quality control yourself. [16:09] I think where our bye came in at this year was really helpful for us because we were [16:13] able to make some adjustments and do some things a little bit differently and just [16:17] be able to play a little bit better brand of football, but also understanding how to [16:20] win in critical moments. [16:22] I thought that over the last few weeks, when we had to deliver offensively and [16:26] defensively to get the win, that's exactly what we were able to do. [16:29] It means to sort of be the face of this thing in some ways. [16:34] Yeah, like, you know, he's so connected to playing football, but I can tell he's [16:38] excited. [16:39] Today was very exciting, especially once he found out I was going to have my opening [16:43] statement in German, that was kind of funny to him. [16:45] He didn't believe that I could get it done in such a short amount of time. [16:49] But I think that for him, you know, he has a lot of pride. [16:52] You can see he's been wearing the flag now for a couple of years on his helmet, so it [16:55] means a lot to him, his mother's heritage, and this is part of who he is. [16:59] So to get the chance to be able to go out and put it on tape at a high level for him [17:03] is most important. [17:04] And the only thing more important than that to him is just winning the football game. [17:08] I'm German speaking in the audience. [17:09] What did you say? [17:10] Oh, I said that we love Germany and we love Amun-Ra and just look forward to it. [17:18] And are there any questions? [17:19] Thank you. [17:21] Yeah. [17:21] There you go. [17:22] The development did a good job last week of preventing or erasing explosives that he [17:26] has. [17:27] It wasn't exactly there. [17:28] How confident are you in your team's ability to adjust on the fly when those opportunities, [17:34] especially for JMO, just aren't showing up? [17:36] Yeah, we saw a lot of opportunities on the field that didn't necessarily come to fruition [17:40] for one reason or another. [17:42] What we have to do is make sure that we ensure those things to get the play started and get [17:46] the ball down the field to him. [17:48] We've been able to find those places for him. [17:51] As you kind of look at the tape, there are opportunities. [17:53] There were opportunities for him. [17:54] There were opportunities for Tess. [17:56] There were some other opportunities from other guys. [17:58] So we just got to collectively continue to do it all together. [18:01] And that's what it is. [18:01] It's like, is it an alignment? [18:03] Is it a split? [18:04] Is it a protection? [18:05] Is it, you know, tight end? [18:06] Is it back? [18:07] Is it receiver? [18:07] All these things are connected. [18:09] But when we do get it right, right now, he is a vertical threat right now. [18:14] You can feel it. [18:15] But the depth of safeties are definitely changing for us, which is very critical for our run [18:21] game last week. [18:22] We'll continue to see it. [18:23] They're trying to plus safeties in now to give us some late changes in coverage, which [18:27] we hadn't seen as much before this week. [18:29] So a little bit more of it. [18:31] So now we feel a little bit more confident in the way that we can go attack it. [18:33] I feel really good about where JG, you know, he plays at a high level. [18:38] There's a couple of things that, of course, all of us, you know, from a route standpoint, [18:42] route schematic standpoint, that we would have maybe done a little bit differently. [18:45] But we saw it. [18:46] Now we're able to adjust and we're ready to go. [18:48] So we look forward to that. [18:49] We look forward to getting the ball back down the field. [18:52] And because of that now, though, we really have created this area of intermediate throws [18:56] for our guys. [18:57] Like, I mean, you can see Saint now. [18:58] He's getting to some areas and some spots again that they tried to take away from us [19:02] at different games. [19:03] So it all kind of works collectively together. [19:05] The deal is we're going to have to hit those explosives. [19:08] The critical is we're going to have to hit those explosives every time. [19:11] And if you hit one or two of those in those situations where we got them schematically, [19:14] just completely figured out. [19:16] Once we get that done now, it just opens up our run game. [19:19] It opens up our pass game, intermediate, whether it's the quick game or a deep game. [19:22] Gibbs has had two catches the last two weeks. [19:26] Gibbs has only had two. [19:28] Are teams starting to be cognizant, I guess, a little bit more of what he can do as a receiver [19:33] and trying to take that away from him? [19:35] Yes, there's several things that people are trying to do. [19:37] They've tried to do it before. [19:39] But, you know, now they are just willing to really give that amount of resources to what [19:43] he's doing. [19:44] So our other intermediate catches and our check down should have a little bit more opportunity. [19:49] You're seeing him getting butched out of the backfield. [19:51] Teams are looking to jam him on the first level and pass him to the backers before they [19:55] even get running. [19:56] So that's one of the things they're trying to do. [19:58] But also, you know, it's one of those situations to where we are using him a little bit differently. [20:04] We are trying to use him, spread him out the way that we're using him. [20:08] And then now you bring Sione back into the fold. [20:10] Sione's getting to some of those spots. [20:12] And now he'll start to have some more check down. [20:14] So that'll kind of level its way out. [20:16] But now Sione's starting to understand the whole, the totality of everything, whether [20:20] it's first down protection, third down protection in the run game. [20:23] And now because of that, you know, there may be a few less touches in the past game here [20:27] and there, but his touches will be big. [20:29] We didn't try to get a couple to him where we just were mistargeted or we just didn't [20:32] make the play. [20:33] Energy for streaming the Northville football game Friday from Germany. [20:37] 3 a.m. [20:38] Not even a problem. [20:39] It's a normal wake-up time. [20:40] I'm looking forward to it. [20:42] No strategy. [20:42] My wife is going to probably make me wear, you know, like a headset and then, you know, [20:47] I probably won't be able to, she won't let me talk, but it'll be at 3 a.m. [20:50] We'll stream it. [20:50] I'm extremely proud and excited for those guys. [20:54] And I'm upset that I'm, you know, I'm upset that I'm not going to be there. [20:57] But, you know, if there's anything that you got to miss, you know, your Northville high [21:02] school football game in the third round of playoffs, I mean, I think it's okay for me to [21:06] miss to be in Germany playing, you know, pretty big time football. [21:10] But, yeah, 3 a.m. is what time I'll be up, so I'll be watching it, no doubt about it. [21:15] I'll try to be as quiet as I can so my wife doesn't kill me, but I'm looking forward to [21:19] it. [21:21] Thanks, guys. [21:21] Thanks, guys. [23:31] I have no idea. [23:33] I have no idea. [23:43] It's been fine for me. [23:45] It's been up and down. [23:49] I don't always talk to communicate with people, but. [23:53] Just stay or like the whole beat? [23:54] Did you guys work the last, sometimes I'm just like the last two. [23:59] A lot of practice, I'd say. [24:00] I just add them on. [24:02] It might be bad. [24:04] Sometimes I just get the headphones. [24:07] Yeah. [24:07] Yeah. [24:08] Remember the headphones are soft. [24:09] Does he play? [24:09] I'm also. [24:10] I don't know. [24:11] That's a lot. [24:12] Yeah. [24:14] I'm sure. [24:16] I'm sure if you're adding a lot of miles or bigger, but. [24:20] Yeah. [24:21] Yeah. [24:21] Most of the time. [24:22] That's not important. [24:24] It's like the rats. [24:25] Yeah. [24:25] These are gelphers so far. [24:27] People are like, can you have me put something around? [24:29] Sure. [24:29] Yeah. [24:30] Yeah. [24:31] Can you take me an hour to get them on the table? [24:33] We have drawers full of these rats. [24:37] That's too. [24:37] My problem. [24:41] I'm the only one of my friends. [24:51] You just turn around the jungle. [24:52] I don't know. [24:53] I am. [24:59] Oh, he's lovely. [25:03] Rainy. [25:04] He's never raided. [25:12] Yeah. [25:13] Yeah. [25:13] I was asked a couple times. [25:15] I was like. [25:16] I'm sure you still need me to go. [25:18] Yeah. [25:18] Let's go. [25:19] I don't know. [25:21] I don't know. [25:23] I don't know. [25:25] No, it's not. [25:26] I can use that. [25:28] He can use that. [25:30] I can use that. [25:34] Rage. [25:36] Rage. [25:37] Yeah. [25:43] I can use that. [25:44] I can use that. [25:44] I can use that. [25:45] I can use that. [25:46] Yeah, we're going to have some of my problems on video. [25:52] I watched the game, watched the game, watched the game, watched the game, watched it on my laptop. [25:59] I know it was such a good idea. [26:03] I remember it was me. [26:09] I was like, that's not good. [26:12] I was just glad there was no stupid. [26:19] Which I didn't think. [26:22] That's true. [26:28] Oh, there he goes.