Pressers and scrums: Why Dan Campbell has open-door policy with players

Allen Park — Dan Campbell had a meaty, morning media session that went nearly 14 minutes and opened with the Detroit Lions coach sharing his, and by extension the organization’s, excitement about getting a contract extension done with offensive tackle Taylor Decker.

But the interesting part was Campbell elaborating on an earlier interaction with Decker — revealed by the lineman a day earlier — where the player directly sought out his coach to get an update on the contract talks.

Campbell spoke on the importance of having that open-door policy, as well as honest communication with players. And while you might expect that’s the coach copying a mentor’s approach, it’s more a reaction to a negative experience from his playing day.

“I appreciate him trusting us, but all our guys know that, man, you got something on your mind, come up and talk,” Campbell said. “We can talk one-on-one and I’ll give you the straight up. Man, I remember what it was like as a player, and I was lied to at one point, and I will never do that to a player. So even if it’s going to hurt a little bit, I want him to know the truth.”

In that conversation, Campbell told Decker he was next up for an extension, the team just wanted to see how he was responding physically after an offseason surgery before making the plunge. A week into camp, with all those boxes checked, the deal got done just as Campbell suggested it would.

● Rookie guard Christian Mahogany remains on the PUP list with an illness. Not expecting specifics because of the potential personal nature of what’s going on, I asked if there was a timetable for the lineman rejoining the team.

Campbell’s answer wasn’t particularly encouraging.

“Here’s what you do know, is that anytime a rookie has missed — here we go, we’re going on practice six here and he’s still not here — yes you get concerned with the development of the player because they need everything,” Campbell said. “I mean you miss one day as a rookie and that’s tough to recover from because you don’t have two-a-days anymore.

“I don’t want to say we’re concerned, and it’s a real thing, this illness,” Campbell continued. “It really is a day-by-day. We have virtually checked him in, so he’s virtually in meetings and things of that nature. But man, when we know he’s ready to get here and be a part of what we’re doing, believe us, we’ll get him here as fast as possible. As of right now, we have to assume we don’t have him.”

There’s a lot of ambiguity in that response, so it’s wise to avoid speculation. The good news is the Lions weren’t counting on Mahogany to start, or even be a top backup along the interior of the team’s offensive line, so they’re in position to give him as much time as he needs to recover.

● Which player popped for Campbell the first day in pads? A tight end, of course.

Campbell highlighted Parker Hesse, a young veteran who appeared in 28 games for the Atlanta Falcons the past three seasons.

It makes sense that a 260-pound, block-first option, who has been seeing a lot of reps in the backfield, would stand out when permitted to play with full contact.

Hesse is battling with James Mitchell, Shane Zyltra and Sean McKeon for the No. 3 (and potentially No. 4) tight end job.

● Cornerback Steven Gilmore made Detroit’s roster as an undrafted rookie last season, but was a healthy scratch most weeks, barely seeing the field. The young defender is showing some of same playmaking ability he displayed last offseason in the early stages of this camp, but Campbell is looking for more.

“Gilmore has got ability, and I still feel like he needs a whole other notch,” Campbell said. “He can take a whole other notch up. He’s got natural instincts, he’s pretty competitive, cover skills, and so he’s one of those guys, look, he’s worked at it, but I expect more out of him. I just do, because I think he’s an instinctive player. So we need him to take a big jump this training camp. And I would say to this point, after these five days, he’s done a good job.”

● Second-round pick Ennis Rakestraw came up with the first interception in full-team drills during camp, which generated a lot of questions about how he was feeling.

“We talked about it every day, ‘You gonna get one, you gonna get one,’ and we fell short a couple of times, Rakestraw said. “But today I think we got three of them and I'm happy that the rookie got the first one. I got the first punch fumble, so got a lot of firsts going on right now." 

Rakestraw knocked the ball free from running back Bam Knight after a short reception last week.

"I love forcing a fumble more than an interception,” Rakestraw said. “I know that sounds kind of crazy, but when you force a fumble it shows the real toughness that you got because you gotta actually go up and hit somebody and then punch out. Sometimes you might get stiff-armed to the ground, but as long as the ball's out that's all that matters."