Dan Campbell's tough coaching persona is well-known. But a former Pro Bowl player just revealed a different side of the Lions' head coach. On a recent podcast, Terron Armstead made a bold claim that he was Campbell's 'prized possession' long before Detroit's recent success.

"I was Dan Campbell's favorite...So like everything he's put in for Penei. This is where this is the origin right here. ...Sean Payton didn't call as many like I had a couple o-line plays that we had in practice got caught in the game, but it didn't get actually ran because of technicality rep, whatever. But like I was Dan Campbell's his prized possession."

The Lions have designed plays where Penei Sewell reports as an eligible receiver and runs a route, something rarely seen from offensive tackles. Armstead says that Campbell has tried all that with him before, when they were together in the New Orleans Saints.

The now Lions' HC once served as the Assistant Head Coach and Tight Ends Coach for the Saints from 2016 through 2020. There, he worked with Armstead, who played for the Saints from 2013 until 2021 before moving to the Miami Dolphins in 2022.

With Campbell in the team, Armstead committed 12 accepted penalties for 99 yards, had zero fumbles and zero fumbles lost, and recovered two loose balls in 56 games. He was named to the Pro Bowl multiple times and earned Second-Team All-Pro honors in 2018.

The OT enjoyed his time with the current Lions head coach, and interestingly enough, he and the team wanted Campbell to be their head coach. Though Sean Payton was a big factor here.

The Saints Might Have Had Dan Campbell If Sean Payton Made This Move

Armstead was asked about how Dan Campbell was in the Saints. The Pro Bowler said what everybody says about the Lions' head coach. He praised his intensity, love for the O-lineman, and the passion to run the ball and be physical.

"I'm going to share a little secret," he said. " We kept hearing rumors of Sean entertaining the Cowboys job. And we was like, if Sean go to Dallas, Dan Campbell going to be our head coach."

Payton was the head coach of the New Orleans Saints from 2006 through 2022. Behind the scenes in 2019, there were reports that the Cowboys and Saints almost worked out a deal to hire Payton, but it ultimately fell apart.

Had that happened, maybe Dan Campbell would have never come to the Lions. Would the Detroit Lions still have the success they had in recent seasons without Campbell?

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Written by

Reyansh Dubey

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar