He arrived with a bang, fueled by a vow to bite kneecaps. Three years later, he has transformed the perpetually dysfunctional Detroit Lions into one of the finest franchises in all of football.
And, yes, the Lions were supposed to be good. Usually, the coach of the year is the coach of the team that surprised everyone the most. Under that standard, it’s Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell.
But we need to move past the “coach of the biggest surprise” standard and give the award to the best coach of the year. The Lions fought through injuries and delivered fifteen wins, a franchise record. Campbell was true to himself all year long, using his hard-nosed, dip-in-his-cheek authenticity and a take-no-prisoners mindset to galvanize the locker room and make the Lions believe that it’s their destiny to win it all.
Could stubborn adherence to who he is and what he does catch up to Campbell in the postseason? Possibly. But this is a regular-season award.
And in the biggest regular-season game in years, Campbell prevailed over O’Connell.
It was close. Entering Week 18, it was essentially a dead heat. Game No. 272 ended up being the tiebreaker.
O’Connell might win the coach of the year award that matters far more than this one, if enough of the voters don’t break from the usual test for picking a coach of the year. I did. We did. For putting together a gritty, grind-it-out, more-close-calls-than-blowouts effort despite a critical mass of injuries to win the No. 1 seed in the NFC, the award goes to Campbell.
Others who merit a mention include Broncos coach Sean Payton, who led the Broncos in his second season to their first playoff berth since 2015. Chiefs coach Andy Reid cobbled together 15 wins with a Chiefs team that doesn’t seem to be as potent as it has been in recent years, but still might emerge with another Super Bowl win.
And Commanders coach Dan Quinn has transformed the culture in one year, taking the franchise to its most wins since 1991, when the team last won a Super Bowl.
Again, it was close. But it was very hard to give it to O’Connell when the Vikings went 0-2 against the Lions and Campbell.
Von Miller was MVP of Super Bowl 50 with the Broncos and played 10 seasons in Denver before the team traded him to the Rams in 2021. He won another Super Bowl in Los Angeles.
Now, he’s with the Bills playing a playoff game against the team that drafted him second overall in 2011.
“I’ve had two days to really think about it, and it’s all love,” Miller told reporters in Buffalo on Wednesday, via Ryan McFadden of The Denver Post. “I can’t even start to play [with] the delusion of hatred. . . . I can’t even start to play that game.
“That would put myself so far in a place that’s not even close to being reality. It would be hurtful to the way I want to play. I love those guys. I love everything about the Denver Broncos.”
Miller is the Broncos’ all-time leader in sacks with 110.5. He made six with the Bills this season, giving him 129.5 for his career.
He no longer as a star, with his last Pro Bowl in 2019 and his last double-digit sack season in 2018.
Miller, though, has a chance to win a third Super Bowl ring. First, though, the Bills have to get past his former team.
The Broncos haven’t been to the playoffs since that 2015 championship season when Miller made five sacks and two forced fumbles in the postseason.
“I want to win,” Miller said. “Those small, three to four-second bursts when I’m playing in the game, that 60 minutes when I’m out there, I want to win the game. I want to beat the Denver Broncos. It’s all love at the end of the day. . . . It’s a cool event to be able to play against this new and improved Denver Broncos. . . . It’s a full circle moment, and it’s nothing but respect for the Denver Broncos, and Broncos country, for sure.”
The Broncos are as healthy as can be heading into their wild-card playoff game against the Bills on Sunday.
The only player who didn’t practice Wednesday was reserve offensive tackle Frank Crum, who was out with an illness.
Offensive guard Ben Powers (rest) and cornerback Damarri Mathis (back) were limited participants.
Tight end Nate Adkins (abdomen) and running back Tyler Badie (back) were full participants.
Badie was designated for return from injured reserve on Dec. 24, but the Broncos have not activated him to the active roster with the clock ticking on his 21-day practice window.
Wild Card Weekend is no longer super. In name, at least.
After noticing on Tuesday the conspicuous absence of the name that emerged when the NFL added two more playoff berths and created a six-game opening round, we asked the league if “super” has been deep-sixed.
“Super’ debuted during the 2020 season playoffs when the NFL introduced the new Wild Card format and the addition of a team from each conference making the playoffs, the first change since 1990,” the league said via email. “‘Super’ was used the last four seasons to help differentiate from the previous 30 years of the Saturday/Sunday schedule and further drive awareness of the three days of Wild Card games. It served its purpose as fans have responded well. While it has been retired, there’s no doubt the Wild Card games will continue to be super.”
And so, just as we got used to calling it “Super Wild Card Weekend,” it’s back to being Clark Kent Wild Card Weekend.
But, yes, this year’s games could be very good. And it won’t take much for them to be better than the first round of the college football playoffs.
Health-wise, the Bills’ roster is in good shape entering the club’s wild card matchup against the Broncos.
While Buffalo has a nearly clean injury report, the club notably got receiver Amari Cooper back at practice after he missed Sunday’s regular-season finale due to a personal matter.
Cooper was unlikely to play much last week anyway, with the Bills having already locked up the No. 2 seed. In eight games for Buffalo this season, Cooper caught 20 passes for 297 yards with two touchdowns.
Cooper (back), linebacker Terrel Bernard (quad), defensive tackle DeWayne Carter (wrist/calf), cornerback Rasul Douglas (knee), safety Damar Hamlin (rib), running back Ty Johnson (knee), tight end Dalton Kincaid (knee), defensive back Cam Lewis (shoulder), linebacker Mat Milano (biceps), defensive tackle Jordan Phillips (back), safety Taylor Rapp (neck), receiver Curtis Samuel (rib), defensive end Dawuane Smoot (wrist), and linebacker Dorian Williams (elbow) were all listed as full participants on Buffalo’s injury report. The club held a walk-through in lieu of a full practice on Wednesday.
Kick returner Brandon Codrington (hamstring) and cornerback Ja’Marcus Ingram (personal) did not participate.
