A new era has begun for the Detroit Lions.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because it is. The Lions have had approximately 10 head coaches since the year 2000, which averages out to a head coaching change every 2 years over the last 2 decades. In the same stretch, they’ve had 5 different general managers, for an average of 4 years per GM. It seems that change is the only constant in the Lions organization.

This week, the Lions introduced both their new GM, Brad Holmes, and their new head coach, Dan Campbell. While Holmes’s press conference was fairly measured and steady, Campbell’s Thursday afternoon presser could easily be described as quite the opposite.

Another Change in Culture

Lions fans have long been accustomed to the saying “SOL,” also known as “Same Old Lions”. Well, it appears that our new man Dan has a plan to turn that saying around. He is nothing if not enthusiastic about changing the mindset and culture of an otherwise lovably losing franchise up until this point. And he would know something about losing, seeing as how he was a member of the infamous 0-16 Lions.

Plenty of people weighed in on the internet, both fans and former players alike, to say that they would (hypothetically of course) run through a wall for the new coach. I myself am conflicted. While I absolutely appreciate his transparency on a matter of issues related to the team, there were also a fair amount of eyebrow raising comments that make me worried about whether we are in capable hands. It’s in our nature as Lions fans to be skeptical.

If I’m going off of gut reactions alone, based on Brad Galli’s tweets that were coming out during the presser, my initial thoughts were, “Oh, I like this guy”, followed by, “I didn’t realize the Lions had hired The Dude to be our new next HC, and lastly, “God I hope this doesn’t blow up in our faces. AGAIN”. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who thought that way today.

Maybe if it all goes well we can follow in fellow Detroit icon Diana Ross’s footsteps and do this dance all throughout downtown Detroit for the next 6 seasons.