NFL training camps come with several different types of silly seasons. There’s the annual hoo-ha about overdrafted rookie quarterbacks who will soon be holding clipboards. Or you can focus on the endless array of largely meaningless position battles, most of which will be long forgotten by the time fall rolls around.
And then there’s the celebrity-visit silly season. Think rappers, rockers, jock-sniffing actors, and egomaniacal politicians, all courting superstars and owners for a chance to watch the August gladiator sweatshop unfold in person. Most of these grip-and-grins are eminently forgettable, but there is one that sticks in the mind.
The Hulk and Dan show
Conceptually, this one’s perfect. When Hulk Hogan showed up for a visit at Lions camp a week ago, it felt like a media marriage made in eyeball heaven. The only thing missing was a panel of Pat McAfee idiots sporting cowboy hats and making total fools of themselves.
For Campbell, though, the visuals were just what he wanted. The Hulkster isn’t exactly a popular figure in political circles these days, especially since some training campers reported overhearing Hogan spewing racist insults as he and Dan chewed the fat.
It was all mostly in good fun, though, and for the players and media, it probably helped pass another grueling day of padded practices and nothing news stories. On a larger level, though, it points to Dan Campbell’s ongoing image problem as he tried to duplicate last year’s success and take the team formerly known as the Lie-Downs to the next level.
Why Dan Campbell needs Hulk Hogan
We all remember Dan’s opening presser when he successfully drew attention from a godawful team by promising that the Lions would fight fiercely and bite kneecaps. But the simple fact is that Detroit isn’t that kind of team anymore.
The Lions turned soft last year in the NFC championship game, folding like origami in the second half after building an impressive lead against San Francisco. Campbell, meanwhile, proceeded to gamble the Lions out of a possible Super Bowl berth, coaching like a DraftKings newbie who’s taking all his “free” initial bets and spare cash and wagering them into the wind.
The result was an epic loss that took veteran Lions fans back to the bad old days, but that’s not the real problem here. Led by Brad Holmes' impressive team-building moves, Detroit has evolved into a sleek offensive machine with plenty of weapons and Jared Goff reincarnated as a real quarterback. The defense goes into this season facing real question marks, even with the assumption that Holmes’ moves this offseason will produce the same kind of magic that sparked and transformed the offense.
For Dan Campbell, though, this setup is a bit of a problem. It goes against the grain of who he is as a kneecap biter, which is why Hulk Hogan turned up in camp. Campbell is trying to rebuild the Lions' image as a relentless group of grinders, and while defensive talent will ultimately tell the tale, it’s one of the keys to Detroit’s upcoming season as the coach tries to keep the team from backsliding into the bad old days.