Dan Campbell and the Lions are like Andy Dufresne, "who crawled through a river of sh*t and came out clean on the other side."
"That’s kind of where we’ve gotten," Campbell said Tuesday. "We’re not all the way there yet, but man, we've stayed true to what we are and the guys never wavered."
A man of many metaphors, Campbell served up his latest on the Pat McAfee Show by comparing the Lions' ongoing turnaround to a prison escape that mirrors the plot of The Shawshank Redemption.
"Over the last year and a half, it’s a little bit like -- not that I’ve ever been in prison -- but you’re in prison and you’re plotting your escape and you know how it’s going to work, you have it all planned out, but you gotta have patience," Campbell said. "There’s a certain time for everything to get to where it needs to be for you to make your break, and we made our break. You gotta go through the sewer now to get through there, but you’re going to come out the other end and you’re going to be free and you know the life you’re going to live."
Life has been pretty good recently for the Lions, winners of five of their last six after a 1-6 start. The organization's latest rebuild is gaining steam under Campbell and GM Brad Holmes, and this one feels real. Campbell said he and Holmes weren't totally sure what to expect when they took over the Lions two offseasons ago, but said it's helped that the "reins have been turned over" by ownership.
"Literally, we have full control of what we need to do," Campbell said. "The support from (owner) Sheila Ford, and then Rod Wood, our president, has been true to form. You just don’t know what that is going to look like, you don’t know where it’s going to go or how much influence (they might have), but it’s been 100 percent support and, ‘You guys do whatever it takes to win.’ They’ve never wavered with their support of us."
If Campbell's Lions sustain their current run, they stand to make the playoffs a year after a three-win season. Either way, they can see the light at the end of the sewer.
"We’re on a bit of a run here," Campbell said, "but we’re not finished."