![\"Dan](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2196274054-1.jpg\")
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The Detroit Lions are saluting their fearless leader, Dan Campbell, just days before the 2026 NFL draft kicks in.<\/p>\n
Dan Campbell has brought life to the Detroit Lions<\/a> as head coach of the franchise, and even though he has work to do to get the team up from their 9-8 record last season<\/a>, there\u2019s no denying that he\u2019s turned this team around.<\/p>\n Now, as the 2026 NFL draft approaches<\/a>, the Detroit Lions are honoring Campbell and sending him some love. Why? Because it\u2019s his birthday. On Monday, April 13, the team sent out a post on X celebrating their fearless leader, and followers responded with their well wishes, too.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just any birthday for Campbell, either. It\u2019s his 50th birthday. So, it\u2019s time to celebrate this head coach for what he\u2019s done with the Detroit Lions and simply for being a cool guy, and then, it\u2019s back to work, Dan.<\/p>\n Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions Turns 50 Years Old on April 13<\/p>\n In a post on X on Monday, April 13, the Detroit Lions sent out a photo of Campbell with the caption<\/a>, \u201cHappy birthday, Coach!\u201d<\/p>\n Followers, of course, were quick to respond.\u00a0\u201cHappy birthday coach. I wanna keep you as head coach forever,\u201d one follower said. \u201cWishing you a very Happy Birthday. Enjoy your special day!\u201d another added. \u201cHappy birthday to the greatest coach in Lions history (you can\u2019t argue this),\u201d one more said.<\/p>\n Of course, someone had to be the downer, and one follower said, \u201cHappy Birthday Dan Campbell\u2026 He\u2019s built a tough team, no doubt. But I still don\u2019t see him ever winning a Super Bowl as a head coach. Bookmark this.\u201d<\/p>\n Campbell was born in Meridian, Texas, and first got into football playing at Glen Rose High School. He went on to play football in college at the legendary Texas A&M University, and, of course, even played for the Detroit Lions a minute when he went pro. Happy birthday, Dan.<\/p>\n Some of Our Favorite Dan Campbell Statements From the Detroit Lions\u2019 Season<\/p>\n Campbell is known for his wild postgame remarks, but sometimes, he just says things that make sense and are even inspiring.<\/p>\n \u201cGood win by the guys. Proud of them. That\u2019s the way to finish,\u201d Campbell said after the team\u2019s final game of the season<\/a>, a win over the Bears<\/a>. \u201cI really didn\u2019t expect anything different out of them just knowing the guys that we had I tell you what.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that \u201cnonetheless, I\u2019m still proud of them, because it\u2019s not always the easiest thing. You get eliminated and it\u2019s hard for some guys. You\u2019re back out in the elements and with a team that\u2019s already clinched.\u201d Finally, Campbell said that \u201cour guys fought, man, from the beginning even when they came back, we were up two scores, they came back, our guys didn\u2019t bat an eye and we were able to finish it out.\u201d<\/p>\n After losing to the Vikings<\/a> in late December of 2025, Campbell was candid<\/a> about how it stung. \u201cLosing is very disappointing. Losing. I hate losing,\u201d he said. \u201cWe do. But look, I mean some of these things that come up, the efforts there. It\u2019s just boy, we are not, we\u2019re just a little off here. And it\u2019s costing us significantly.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued, \u201cJust there again, too many turnovers. That\u2019s what really got us, man. Just couldn\u2019t overcome it.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAnne Erickson<\/a> is an award-winning reporter for Heavy Sports covering the NFL, NBA and college football. Anne Erickson has years of experience covering the NFL and additional sports, and her work has been published via ESPN, Fox Sports and more. She has interviewed some of the biggest names in sports, including Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Erickson also hosts several podcasts and is a Detroit-based radio host. More about Anne Erickson<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Lions\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty The Detroit Lions are saluting their fearless leader, Dan Campbell, just days before the 2026 NFL draft…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":865788,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2071],"tags":[146,113,2506,7,147,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-865787","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-lions","8":"tag-detroit","9":"tag-detroit-lions","10":"tag-detroitlions","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-lions","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116399805967690867","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=865787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865787\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/865788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=865787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=865787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=865787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}