The Lions cut long snapper Don Muhlbach on his 40th birthday this week, an unceremonious departure for a player who had played 260 games for Detroit. Lions coach Dan Campbell took the blame for that, in a way on Campbell can.
Campbell, who played with Muhlbach on the Lions from 2006 to 2008, said he knows it wasn’t exactly the nicest way to treat a respected veteran, but it comes with the business of football.
“There’s no way to sugarcoat that,” Campbell said. “I’m an asshole, so that’s about the best way to put it. And I hate it. There was no way around it, really. You could say there is, but ultimately that falls on me. It’s my fault. Don’s a hell of a dude. It sucks, but it is what it is.”
Campbell has shown since the day he was introduced as the Lions’ head coach that he has a different way of communicating than other head coaches, whether it’s calling for his players to bite their opponents’ kneecaps, or calling himself an asshole.