Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell knows that one successful season doesn't automatically lend itself to another the next year without putting in the work.
In 2000, Campbell started four games for the New York Giants and was part of a Giants team that appeared in Super Bowl XXXV after a 12-4 record in the regular season. The Giants returned the team mostly intact the following year and they went 7-9 and missed the playoffs.
"One of the best things that ever happened to me, is I was a part of a team that, man, we did something really special, we came up a little short, and the next (year) we had the exact same team. The exact same team. I mean, we made it a point, and, man, I just remember there were a couple of things, 'Hey guys, we're not going to go pads today.' Everybody goes, 'Yeah, alright!' You know, those things, 'Hey, this is great. Hey guys, get out of here a little bit early,'" Campbell said Wednesday.
"And pretty soon, by the end of it, you're not – you just lost your identity and everything that made you what you are, you went away from it because, 'You know what? We'll be OK. We've got the same guys.'"
That was a lesson Campbell never forgot and won't soon let his team forget as they kick off a season they hope culminates with a trip to New Orleans and Super Bowl LIX the second week of February.
Campbell is set on this team keeping its identity as a gritty, hard-working unit that puts in the work and plays with an edge. There will be no shortcuts in the pursuit of what the Lions hope is their first shot at a Super Bowl.
"That is the most important thing to me, and I won't sacrifice it for anyone or anything," Campbell said. "I told the team that and they know that."
It's a message that hit home to the players too, especially a veteran like Taylor Decker, who finally got to enjoy some success last season. Decker was part of a team at Ohio State in 2014 that won a National Championship and then failed to win the Big Ten and didn't make the college playoff the following season.
"I think the mark of any good team is going to be consistency," Decker said after practice Wednesday. "At this point, nobody cares what we did last year. It just doesn't matter. It has no bearing on this season moving forward. If anything, it's going to make it harder for us. We can't take that for granted.
"It's hard to have a great season and then refocus and get back doing things the right way. I think it goes back to Dan and (GM) Brad (Holmes) bringing in the right people who are culture fits who won't let that happen. If you have the right core group of guys they aren't going to let that happen and I think we've got that here."
The message from Campbell to the players in their first team meeting Tuesday night was that this season is all about the work that has to be put in to maintain success.
"We don't live off reputation. We live off of work," he said.
It's what earned Detroit their first NFC North title in 30 years last season and their first playoff win in more than three decades. It's been a long, hard road to get to where they're at as one of the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. To make that a reality, there's a price to be paid, and so they've got to pay it again starting right now in training camp. That's the message, and Campbell said it will always be the message.
