TWENTYMAN: How Campbell's career as a player will help him as a head coach
Campbell would play another nine seasons in the NFL before getting into coaching, first in Miami, and then the last five seasons with the New Orleans Saints as their assistant head coach and tight ends coach.
Campbell said his NFL playing days offer him a unique perspective on his newest job. He's been in the locker room. He's seen good coaching and bad coaching, and how it impacts the locker room. He said he'll never ask a player to do something he wouldn't do himself.
"If you said, what is my strength? My true strength is that I relate to people well," Campbell said. "I relate to those players well because I was in that locker room. Even more than that, I can call a spade a spade as an ex-player. I'm not afraid to tell you where you stand or what it looks like. But at the same time, I get it. If I'm asking you to do it, I've done it."
Former players who have played under Campbell in New Orleans have raved about him. Saints left tackle Terron Armstead was asked by ESPN about Campbell, and he said Campbell is the kind of coach you'd run through a brick wall for.
Campbell said it's always been his philosophy that if someone wants to get others moving in the same direction, he has to get to their heart first, and prove to them that it really means something to him. As a former player, Campbell put in the time, the tears and the sweat. He knows what it takes. He wants to have great communication from the coach-to-player level.
