Michigan State HC Tom Izzo talks appreciation for Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo saw something different in his team at the end of their 73-55 win over Rutgers on Sunday.

Immediately after Izzo’s son, Steven, scored the first points of his Spartan career with :33 seconds to go, Steven’s Michigan State teammates ran over to him to help pick him up off the ground. They jumped in the air and celebrated like he had just hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer. 

The players’ collective excitement and impassioned leadership is what caught Izzo’s eye in that moment. It’s something he wants this year’s team to show more of because sometimes, according to Izzo, it can make the difference between a “good” team and a “great” team.

At his Tuesday press conference, Izzo, ever the football fanatic, pointed to Dan Campbell’s Detroit Lions team as a prime example of what he means.

“I don’t think you can be great if you don’t have (passion),” Izzo said. “And I think we have somebody to learn from right down the road on Sundays, and that’s the Lions. Dan has done something there…you know, he’s getting ripped for taking chances, he’s getting ripped for how tough he is, he gets ripped for this and that. And I just smile, man.”

The Lions have steadily adopted Campbell’s fiery, passionate demeanor during his three years as head coach, and it appears to be paying off. In three years, Detroit has gone from 3-13-1 to 12-5. This season, the Lions won their division and a playoff game for the first time in over 30 years.

Whether it’s talk of biting off kneecaps or moving on from a heartbreaking loss with “pure octane,” Campbell is unabashedly himself. His attitude appears to have rubbed off on his team and its fanbase, the latter of which includes Izzo.

“Boy, you know what Dan is? He’s infectious,” Izzo said. “I watch his press conferences. They excite me. Especially the one when he was really mad about the play call (in Detroit’s week 17 loss at Dallas). The two-point conversion. I think I replayed it again and again and again and again. It was awesome.”

Izzo wants his team to adopt a similar type of passion, flair and fervent leadership as the season rolls on.

“I think we all need that,” Izzo said. “We need that passion, we need that enthusiasm. Sometimes it gets taken away and that’s my fault more than anything.”

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo looking forward to meeting with Dan Campbell

Izzo typically invites Lions staff members to East Lansing every year for a home basketball game. But Campbell and company have yet to make the trip because, for the first time in a long time, Detroit’s season has extended into mid-January.

When the time comes, however, Izzo will surely pick Campbell’s brain.

“What I really want to do is sit down with Dan,” Izzo said. “Just sit down and listen to him and kind of learn some things.” 

If and when Izzo and Campbell meet, Izzo said he’ll have no problem admitting to Campbell that he grew up a Green Bay Packers fan. Izzo hails from Iron Mountain, Mich., a small town on the border of Wisconsin and Michigan’s upper peninsula. So, for nearly all of his life, Izzo has rooted for the Lions’ division rival.

Like Detroit, Green Bay will play in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs this weekend. Should the Lions and Packers both win, they would meet for the third time the season – this time in the NFC title game. If that were to happen, things would get complicated for Izzo and his football allegiances.

“The only problem I’m going to have is if they both win, then I have to take my roots and my new home and then I have to put it together,” Izzo said. “But I could look at it like I don’t have to pull for either one. I know my team’s going to win.”

“When in Rome, do like the Romans,” Izzo continued. “I’m still a Packer fan. I would really have problems if the Packers played the Lions because I’ve gotten to know (Packers head coach) Matt LaFleur. I texted him the other day. Great guy. His dad was at Central (Michigan) and he’s from Mount Pleasant.”

Regardless of how they finish this season, Campbell’s Lions have impressed Izzo, and Izzo appreciates what their success means for the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan.

“I told (Steve) Mariucci this when he took the job there 20 years ago: I’ve watched the Detroit Tigers, in ‘68 and then the other times they were so good,” Izzo said. “I watched the Pistons in the ‘90s be so good and went down to those games. And the Red Wings, they’re good all the time. I mean, a little slump now but they had so many years.

“So I have an appreciation, but I told Mariucci, ‘It’s still a football town.’ And if football is ever good, the roof will come off this place. And from what I hear – I wasn’t there – but it was close the other day (during the Wild Card game). So it helps our whole state. God bless them.”