MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — New Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Calais Campbell is a six-time Pro Bowler and member of the 2010s All-Decade Team.
He has a borderline Hall of Fame résumé — with one big piece missing.
“The one thing we need to do collectively to kind of stamp his career is get to New Orleans and win a Super Bowl,” Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said Friday. “And hopefully we can get that done.”
Is Miami Dolphins DT Calais Campbell a Hall of Famer?
Campbell agrees completely.
“I do have those aspirations,” he said last week. “And I know that winning a Super Bowl would be monumental for that. I believe this team has the capabilities of winning a Super Bowl.
“Obviously, it’s going to be tough — the AFC is a gauntlet,” he continued. “A lot of talented teams, teams that want it just as bad as we do. I think we’ve got to have that mindset that we got to go take it from them. It’s not going to be an easy route, but we’ve got a great group of guys that are capable of doing the job, just got to do it when the time counts.”
Campbell’s résumé is a bit unique because of the position he plays. He’s probably his generation’s best 5-technique defensive lineman, but that’s a relatively specialized role.
He’s fabulous against the run, with 175 tackles for loss, but his 105.5 career sacks rank just 48th all-time.
But he also should have a ton of goodwill among the committee. Campbell is eminently likeable and won the league’s highest off-field honor, the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, in 2019.
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He’s a big plus to any locker room, with leadership skills that remind Weaver of the greatest basketball player of this generation — who also took his talents to South Beach to help enhance his legacy.
“He leads through empathy, right? Empathy and example, I think, is what that is,” Weaver said. “Because on the field, at his age in particular, I truthfully don’t know how he does it. It’s like LeBron James in basketball and Calais Campbell in football, in my mind. They’re just human marvels.
“I don’t know how he gets it done. And then in the locker room, he doesn’t lead from a ‘This is me on top of the mountain’-type approach. He is very relationship-minded, relationship-based, tries to get to know each and every one of his teammates. And then once that trust and just conversation is there, that’s when he can impart some of the wisdom that he’s acquired throughout all his time here.”
Weaver added: “He is one of the best leaders I’ve ever been around. He is what I call a force multiplier. So the effect that he has on a team, not just a defense but a team, is immense.”
As for how the Dolphins plan to use Campbell in his first (and likely only) season in Miami?
“The guy can do it all,” Dolphins defensive line coach Austin Clark said. “He can f—ing block kicks, he can sack the quarterback, he can play the run at a high level. I would never tell that guy he could never do anything.”
