Campbell on hype around Lions: Have to ‘earn it’

ALLEN PARK, Mich. — As the Detroit Lions enter the 2023 season, there have been some high expectations placed on the team that even head coach Dan Campbell couldn’t ignore.

“I think as always, the thing that’s gonna worry you is the hype train,” Campbell said Sunday, the Lions’ first day of training camp. “I mean, as with most coaches, this thing is just taking off and it’s out of control right now and that’s fine, as long as we stay focused on the job at hand and the work. I just keep going back to that. We’ve got to put the work in and earn it.”

Although the organization hasn’t reached the playoffs since 2016, the Lions are the consensus betting favorite to win the NFC North after winning eight of their final 10 games to end last season. Detroit hasn’t won the division since 1993, when it was called the NFC Central and had five teams.

They also have four prime-time games on the schedule, in addition to their annual Thanksgiving Day game. Campbell is trying not to let guys feed into the extra attention.

“I think you just keep the message consistent, and you call it what it is, and it just goes back to the work,” Campbell said. “And when you see it not going that way or we have some guys that are deviating a little bit, or they think they’ve arrived and they haven’t, you call them out on it.

“I think as long as we do that as coaches and players as teammates, we’ll be fine.”