Brian Daboll Shares Story of Dan Campbell Interviewing For A Dolphins Job By Slamming Walls And Chairs
Dan Campbell: Detroit Lions coach, football guy ... WWE wrestler?
Campbell's intensity as a coach is unrivaled in the NFL, both on the field and behind the scenes.
Speaking on the Lions coach ahead of a Week 11 matchup between Detroit and New York, Giants head coach Brian Daboll shared a story on an interview he conducted for the Miami Dolphins in 2011 involving the Lions play-caller.
Daboll was working as the Dolphins offensive coordinator and was told to meet with Campbell, who was looking to join the Fins' staff after working as a coaching intern in 2010. He remembered the interview set up by former Dolphins coach Tony Sparano where Campbell appeared and started throwing around chairs like a pro wrestler and doing drills as part of his tryout for the coaching gig.
"Tony said, 'Hey, I got this guy that I think will be good. Why don't we interview him? You take care of the interview.' So, I interviewed Dan," Daboll shared, as relayed by The Athletic's Dan Duggan.
"It was a great interview. He's slamming chairs on the ground, hitting walls, and going through all these drills," Daboll added.
Campbell's meat-headed charm appeared to work on Daboll and the Dolphins after receiving the tight ends coaching job.
According to Duggan, he showed up at the Dolphins' training facility at 5:30 a.m. the next day to get a pump in.
Campbell stuck with Miami until 2015 and even served as their interim head coach after the team fired Joe Philbin. DC led the team to a 5-7 record to end the year.
Sunday will bring plenty of memories back to Campbell as he faces the team that drafted him in 1999. He played tight end in the Big Apple until 2003. DC played his last snap as a player in 2009 for the New Orleans Saints.
"You guys know him. He's a great person," Daboll said. "Fantastic family. It was an entertaining interview. Knew a lot, obviously. He was very passionate. Tough as nails. You could tell. Heck, he was out of breath in half that interview with the stuff he was doing. Yeah, great guy.
"He's a tough guy. Very smart. That's the way his team plays."