The Detroit Lions‘ spring program has featured the usual mix of OTA drills, install periods, and positional competition. But away from Allen Park, Dan Campbell has been carving out time for something far less structured: gardening.

Yes, that Dan Campbell. The former tight end with a cement-truck voice, now head coach of a team coming off its most successful season in decades, has spent part of his offseason digging into the soil in his own backyard—literally. His wife, Holly, posted a short Instagram reel in May that showed Campbell carefully checking squash seedlings into a raised bed. Their dog, Bird, hovered nearby.

“Don’t eat the squash Bird🍓 #firsttimegardener #farmerdan #detroit,” she wrote. The clip caught fans off guard. Campbell, who made headlines last year for chugging espresso shots and delivering speeches with WWE-level intensity, looked calm. Focused. Almost meditative. Maybe that’s the point.

“Football never stops in your head,” Campbell said earlier this spring at the NFL Annual Meeting. “So finding something real and away from the noise is vital.” For Campbell, that balance is increasingly part of the job. In April, Holly posted a six-word note Dan had written to their unborn son years ago — “I hope you can read this” — adding context to a story that’s become a favorite in Lions fan circles. Not long after, Campbell went viral again, this time hauling an oversized beanbag chair from daughter Piper’s dorm. “I brought some muscle — and a truck,” he said.

These aren’t just nice offseason anecdotes. They’re part of a larger portrait of Campbell, whose coaching style is rooted in relatability. What you see is what you get. And it’s working.

Will Dan Campbell’s culture bloom into another breakout season?

Detroit followed its NFC Championship run in 2023 with a 15-2 campaign in 2024. They brought back most of the offensive core: Jared Goff, fresh off a 4,629-yard, 37-touchdown season; Amon-Ra St. Brown, who caught 115 balls and scored 12 times; and a backfield that’s among the most efficient in the league. On defense, they remained a top-five run unit under Aaron Glenn, and even with both coordinators departing for head coaching gigs, Campbell didn’t flinch.

“We’ll be fine,” Glenn said in May. “The culture here is too strong to fade.” Campbell echoed that sentiment during the league meetings. “Continuity matters. We return almost everyone who drove our success. That’s rare in this league.”

That culture starts with trust. Quarterback Jared Goff, who signed a four-year extension in May, will be tasked with more command of the offense. “He’s earning the right to take the wheel,” Campbell said this spring. “When he brings something to the table, it usually works.”

The Lions enter the 2025 season with higher expectations than any team in franchise history. And Campbell’s approach hasn’t changed. He’s not shouting slogans or overhyping training camp battles. He’s staying grounded — figuratively and literally. “We’re going to come back stronger,” he said after last year’s playoff exit. “We’re going to learn from it. It’s just more fuel on the fire.”

Turns out, the guy with the fire also found a little time for soil.