It never hurts to get some positive PR for your football team at the onset of free agency, especially when it comes from a Hall of Fame player who’s “excited just to be around the team again.”

“I love Dan, man. I played with Dan,” said Calvin. “I love Dan so much because, not only because he’s a teammate, but he’s a soldier, man.”

Knowing what we know now about the kind of pain and injuries Calvin Johnson played through in his career, his words of respect about Campbell’s dedication and toughness are especially poignant.

“When we was out there, obviously we didn’t have the best teams in Detroit, but my man was playing on one shoulder and he was starting an NFL game. He was finishing games. So, to see him do that, I think the guys on that team this year and towards the end of the season were able to see what kind of man they had as their head coach.”

Calvin admitted the players may not be familiar with their coach’s playing career, but they know they have a player’s coach, and it’s obvious to see how the players were responding to that kind of leadership.

“And I think the guys are playing for him now. I mean, it took ‘em a while—a half a season to get in sync last year—but when they did, you could see that there was more, they were playing for more than themselves, clearly.”

Here’s a link to the entire show if you’d like to check out Calvin’s entire spot—interview starts at the 0:44 mark.