Dan Campbell stands at a towering 6-foot-5 today, but resurfaced photos of the Lions coach from high school show he was already a menacing figure as a teenager.
Before playing college football at Texas A&M and ultimately making it to the NFL, Campbell was a member of the football and basketball teams for Glen Rose High School in Texas.
And photos from that time period, which were recently posted to X, sent fans into meltdown as Campbell stood out with his massive frame.
‘Safe to say nobody was bullying young dan campbell,’ one said in response to an X post of the photos.
‘Imagine being one of those dorks on his team?,’ a second fan chimed in.
Resurfaced photos of Dan Campbell from his high school days show him towering over his basketball teammates
He starred for the Glen Rose football team at tight end and defensive back as well
Campbell is now leading the NFC-best Lions as their head coach, with the team 8-1
A third added, ‘His football picture looks out of a cartoon.’
‘Haven’t you seen him on the sidelines? Those are just his regular shoulders,’ a fourth said referencing the massive shoulder he wore in his football photo.
Campbell’s hulking physique from his high school days (he graduated in the mid 1990’s) can more easily be seen in his basketball photo, as he stood head and shoulders above most of his much scrawnier teammates – and even an apparent coach.
A running back and defensive back for the school’s football team, he was already 230 pounds at the time, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
‘He returned a punt once 75 yards for a touchdown,’ his high school football coach, Richard Dye, said.
‘He played basketball, and he was a high jumper. He ran the hurdles. He ran the third leg of the mile relay.’
Now, Campbell if focused on coaching the NFC-leading Lions, who are 8-1 going into Sunday’s matchup against the Jaguars.
The 48-year-old has overseen a dramatic turnaround for the franchise since taking over in 2021, winning the Lions their first division title since 1993 last season.
He is surely a frontrunner to win the NFL’s Coach of the Year award if the Lions stay hot in the second half of the season.
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