Dan Campbell is the gift that keeps on giving. He provides regular entertainment both in front of a microphone and on the sideline, especially as he seemingly goes for it on every fourth down, regardless of field position or game situation.
His gifts aren't limited to the walls of 2000 Brush Street, as he handed three teams some free bulletin board material before the playoffs, including the Green Bay Packers.
Following the Lions' win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football, Campbell told Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell, "I'll see you in two weeks."
Sounds harmless enough, right? Well, for the Lions and Vikings to meet again in the divisional round, a specific set of results must occur. The Vikings obviously have to eliminate the Los Angeles Rams, but the Washington Commanders and Packers must also lose. Washington and Green Bay have lower playoff seeding, and Detroit will host the lowest remaining team in the next round.
By calling his shot that Minnesota will return to Ford Field in the divisional round, Campbell is basically saying that he expects the Rams, Commanders, and Packers to lose this weekend. And it has not gone unnoticed.
Dan Campbell's playoff comments have made it into NFL locker rooms ahead of the playoffs
At least one team has used Campbell's comments as extra motivation. According to The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue, there is a screenshot of Campbell's quote to O'Connell in the Rams' locker room.
After all, for the Vikings to play the Lions again, they have to defeat the Rams on Monday night.
NFL teams will use anything to find extra motivation, and so should the Packers and Commanders. Campbell effectively said he expects the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win this week, and you can bet members of the Packers' locker room heard it.
With a win on Sunday, the Packers, and not the Vikings, will head to Ford Field next week. You can almost guarantee one of the players will mention Campbell's comments to the media should the Packers advance.
Campbell was probably just being polite and showing respect to O'Connell, but he could've phrased it differently. He could've said he hopes to see the Vikings again or believes they could meet again at some point in the playoffs. By specifically mentioning two weeks, it handed bulletin board material to three NFC rivals.
And that's just fine by us. The Rams are smart to make sure the entire locker room heard what he said. The Packers should do the exact same thing.