Dan Campbell, the Detroit Lions’ head coach, was motivated to lead the team to the NFC North championship in 2023.
The third-year head coach, who had never won more than nine games in a season before, guided the Lions to a 12-5 record and their second trip in a conference title game.
In addition to winning Detroit’s first division championship since 1993, when it was in the defunct NFC Central, Campbell also received a bonus: the reinstatement of the Lions’ black alternative uniforms, which he lobbied for after being hired again in 2021.
“We’re in the draft room literally months into his tenure, and he wore black when he was here,” Lions team president Rod Wood told reporters Thursday, according to WXYZ Detroit. “He asked, ‘Rod, when can we get our black jerseys back? I responded, ‘I’ll make a deal: if you win the division, I’ll bring the black jerseys back.’ So I made a risky move. Fortunately, he delivered. That is a true story.
The Lions unveiled their new uniforms for the 2024 season on Thursday. They included Campbell’s beloved black jerseys, complete with blue numbering and a silver outline, plus a blue helmet with a black Lions logo outlined in silver.
“He loved them,” Wood said of Campbell’s reaction. “When he was here, he wore them, and I think it was kind of the team’s favorite at the time, and he just kind of pined for it again. For him, it’s a throwback because it’s when he was a player. I think they’ve dressed up even better than when he was here… It’s a better look than the silver pants we wore at the time.”
The Lions debuted their black alternate jerseys in 2003 and wore them during Campbell’s tenure as a player from 2006 to 2008. The 2024 season will mark the first time since 2016 that Detroit will wear its black alternates.
