Dan Campbell has two trusted companions on his trips to Starbucks, along with his wife Holly: a teacup Yorkie named Thelma and a Cathoula leopard dog named Bird.
Holly shared a photo on Instagram Monday in which Campbell is sitting behind the wheel of his pickup truck with Thelma in his lap, while the couple toast a Victory Monday with their Starbucks cups.
The photo naturally went viral, prompting questions about Campbell's pups at his press conference Wednesday. He laughed when it was the first subject that came up and said, "I was not expecting that one."
Asked how Thelma and Bird have contributed to the Lions' 9-1 start, Campbell said with a smile, "Look, I like my dogs. We’ve had some good ones, these are a couple of characters, and they’re totally different. They go with me on coffee runs, that’s probably the best way to say it.”
Campbell, 48, and Holly have two children. He said his pups can be stress relievers in the same way that little kids are: "They don’t care what’s going on."
"I remember my son and my daughter, when they were young and you come home from a loss, they don’t know any different, they’re just happy to see you," Campbell said. "They don’t know the outside world, they don’t know the stress, the pressure, and you appreciate that. And dogs are the same way, right? They just love you, they love you for what you are, and they don’t have bad days, so it’s pretty cool.”