When the Detroit Lions hired Dan Campbell as the team’s head coach in 2021, it was Campbell’s first time being the official head coach of an NFL team. But it wasn’t his first taste of running a team.
Back in 2015, Campbell performed well as the interim head coach of the Miami Dolphins. He took over a 1-3 team and finished with a 5-7 record. That performance nearly got him the full-time head coaching job for the Dolphins.
The man charged with making the decision, former Dolphins GM Mike Tannenbaum, broke down how close Miami was to hiring Campbell full-time. In a recent appearance on the Ross Tucker Podcast, Tannenbaum talked about how Campbell appealed to the Dolphins.
“He was within a whisker of getting the job (of) full-time head coach,” Tannenbaum said. “I think (Campbell) came out of the womb being an NFL head coach.”
After noting how physically imposing Campbell is as a former NFL tight end, Tannenbaum notes that Campbell “is really smart” and “has unbelievable reliability.”
Those qualities have shown for sure in Campbell’s first two seasons in Detroit. Instead of hiring Campbell, Tannenbaum and the Dolphins selected Adam Gase. He went 23-25 in three seasons before being fired by popular demand, and Tannenbaum was also fired at that time.
“He was within a whisker of getting the job full time”@RealTannenbaum talks about what makes Lions HC Dan Campbell so great: pic.twitter.com/ITCV565MK0
— Ross Tucker Podcast (@RossTuckerPod) June 8, 2023
