The Next Dan Campbell? 5 NFL Players Who Would Make Great Coaches After They Retire

One game short of their first-ever Super Bowl trip, the Dan Campbell-coached Detroit Lions are all the rage in the NFL right now.

And why not? Campbell is an inspiring, likeable, "rah-rah" coach who has helped change the mentality and the football culture in Detroit while turning around the franchise as a whole.

But it wasn't long ago that Campbell was an unspectacular NFL tight end who scored 11 total touchdowns in 10 seasons as a pro.

Which current players might have the "Campbell touch" as eventual NFL head coaches? A handful come to mind.

Calais Campbell's career is winding down after 16 years in Arizona, Baltimore, Jacksonville and Atlanta, but the longtime locker room leader established himself as one of the league's most prominent captains during his long tenure with the Cardinals.

"Just his presence out there, it just commands leadership," Falcons senior defensive assistant Dave Huxtable said of the 37-year-old in August, per Amna Subhan of the team's official website. "He's such a friendly guy; he's a friendly giant."

And in Baltimore, head coach John Harbaugh called Campbell's leadership "massively valuable."

Campbell is extremely knowledgeable—here's a great clip of him talking X's and O's with Brian Baldinger—likable and passionate. He'd make a lot of sense as a coach once he retires as a player.

Kirk Cousins has Dan Campbell-esque energy combined with a great offensive mind and lauded leadership skills. The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback was a three-year captain at Michigan State and has been a captain in each of his last eight seasons in Washington and Minnesota.

What's more, Cousins was last year's winner of the Bart Starr Award, which is given to the player who "best exemplifies outstanding character and leadership in the home, on the field, and in the community."

Besides, the guy delivers speeches to teammates that'll put chills down anyone's spine. And he already sounds like a motivational head coach.

"There are times when players may walk off the field and think they had a 'good practice' and they are doing a 'good job,' and you have to reframe the expectation," Cousins told KFAN last summer. "Good isn't what we're chasing here. We're chasing great. We're chasing a championship level, and that requires a different standard. And what you did today, while you may feel was good enough, it really wasn't because the standard is much higher."

Demario Davis has been a highly respected captain and veteran leader throughout his six-year run with the New Orleans Saints and the duration of his 12-year NFL career. He once played for Campbell and is a remarkable, vocal leader on and off the field.

It's possible Davis has aspirations beyond football based at least partly on his relationship with religion. But he certainly has the passion and the personality to lead men in a wide variety of areas.

Here he is leading a Saints pregame huddle four years ago. It's fire.

Cameron Jordan is another Saints player who played under Campbell in New Orleans. He has been a captain on that team for nearly a decade and also possesses the temperament, passion, smarts and overall personality to be a winning NFL head coach.

Look at the way in which Saints players received the 34-year-old when he broke it down following head coach Dennis Allen's postgame speech earlier this year. Pure respect for a great speaker and leader.

"He just demonstrates everything that we're about," Allen said of Jordan last summer.

That's a good start on the path to a successful coaching career.

The Seattle Seahawks bounced back from a brutal Week 1 loss this season with an impressive Week 2 victory in Detroit. Head coach Pete Carroll credited veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner with spearheading the turnaround by resetting the mentality in the locker room.

"I had not had the impact that I wanted to Monday, Tuesday, to get to Wednesday," Carroll said at the time. "And then Bobby called them up on Wednesday and just hit 'em right between the eyes. And it just flipped instantly. I mean, from the time he talked to them to the time we turned it around, it was over and done with and we were onto this game. Which is what we're supposed to do on Wednesday. I just didn't get it done. He got it done for us.

"It doesn't matter how we figure it out, but that was a pivotal moment for us. They all heard him and listened to exactly what he asked them to do. That's leadership."

Indeed it is. The fiery longtime captain in both Seattle and Los Angeles (for the year he snuck away to the Rams) has all the makings of a coach once he hangs up his cleats.