There’s never a shortage of good quotes around here. The Detroit Lions may have two of the best talkers in the business in head coach Dan Campbell and GM Brad Holmes. They said a lot during the offseason, but there was a handful of quotes that were really important and should be remembered as we go into training camp soon.
Here’s the five most important quotes of the year from the Lions.
“I told those guys, this may have been our only shot. Do I think that? No. Do I believe that? No. However, I know how hard it is to get here. I’m well aware. It’s going to be twice as hard to get to this point next year as it was this year. That’s the reality. And if we don’t have the same hunger and the same work, this is a whole other thing.”
This was Dan Campbell right after the Lions crushing loss to the 49ers. The big thing here is that it’s important for the team to realize that this isn’t going to be something that they can just easily just run back. The Lions are going to have to be at another level in 2024. They’ll have keep getting better becasue everyone is coming for them now.
“This is what I what to tell really our fans, is look, it’s only going to get better, OK? We’re only going to get better. I don’t want anybody to think that this was a one shot, Cinderella, magical journey that just happened. No, it’s real. This is exactly what was supposed to happen. And I understand that based on history from what’s happened in the past, I understand you have a season like this, it’s easy to feel like this was kind of a one shot, magical, lucky, cute story, which I’m tired of hearing. It was none of that. It’s easy to think that, but no. Every move that me and Dan make, it has been made to sustain what we are building. Every single move. And I will say every single move we make and every single move we do not make, is to sustain what we have been building. So, it’s real.”
This was from Brad Holmes post season press conference. It was something that Lions fans really needed to hear in the moment. They needed to know that this team had no plans to just turtle and give up what they were doing. The build will continue and the Lions will continue to do things their way.
It was also a sign that the Lions would continue to only get players that fit their culture instead of just bringing in good players becasue they’re good.
“Yeah, that’s a really good question. Because me and our assistant general manager Ray Agnew we were both with Les and he was actually a more integral point person in the free agent process because of his role as a director of pro scouting at the time. But we talked about how, when Les first got there in 2012, you know, obviously, he drafted for a lot of years, and you know, you’re attacking every single position in free agency. You’re trying to build the roster. When Ray and I got here in 2021, we had to take the same approach. But, as you kind of build the roster, and get more stronger in certain areas, your process alters a little bit because you can be a little bit more, we’ve always been strategic and selective, but you can even be more selective than you have in the past. So, we’re not quite there yet, where Les and the Rams are, you know, where he really started to be very, very, very selective there. But me and Ray were just talking about that and we are getting there, we’re getting closer.”
This was Brad Holmes at the Combine. Lions fans are always wondering if the Lions will ever come to an era where they’ll be spending big to bring in high priced free agents.
We asked Holmes about this at the Combine and the takeaway was that he may be taking Rams GM Les Snead who was Holmes boss in L.A. The Lions will be building mostly through the draft, but they’re getting closer to the time when they might be going out and spending that money.
“If my mom was a receiver, I’d jam her into the dirt.” “And she knows that.”
This one isn’t from Campbell or Holmes, but it’s the funniest thing said all year. Lions rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold is all about the business of stopping receivers and it doesn’t matter if that receiver is his own mother. That’s the exact kind of attitude the team is looking for in a cornerback.
“You know what I want. I want the whole enchilada.”
This was not said at a Mexican restaurant. This was from last week when Lions head coach Dan Campbell was asked what he wanted out of the 2024 season. This is what it’s all about here. The team knows exactly what they’re fighting for this year and it’s the only thing they want. You get so used to coaches saying something to the effect of “winning the Super Bowl should be your goal every year,” that it’s just nice to hear someone say “we’re coming for it” instead of “it would be nice.”