Utah, You’ve Gotta Love Dan Campbell

Shower Thought - September 23, 2025

Herman Boone famously said that his team was not a democracy, it was a dictatorship. If you drop a pass you run a mile, you miss a blocking assignment you run a mile, you fumble the football and I will break my foot off in your John Brown hind parts and then you will run a mile. He was a dictator. Nick Saban was a dictator. Players had dress codes, curfews, and diet regulations. Bill Belichick was the same way. Great football coaches are often depicted as dictators.

But in some of the biggest moments in games democracy wins out. Last night the Lions had a 4th and 2 from their own 49, up four with 1:56 left. Herman Boone the dictator would have punted here. But Dan Campbell took a more democratic approach. Had Campbell taken a poll of his sideline, 95 percent of his players on the bench and on the field, including his quarterback and his star receiver, would have voted to go for it. Most coaches in this same situation would go against the will of the people and act like a dictator. It is my neck on the line, I am going to be blamed, I have to face the media afterward. But Campbell, who always seems to follow the will of the team in situations like this, went for it. His players executed precisely, and the Lions kept the ball and put the game away. Had they punted to Lamar they probably go to overtime. Poll the players, do not be a dictator. Do what Dan Campbell does.