GLEN ROSE, Texas — A former Cowboys player and Texas native is leading Dallas' next opponent: Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell.
Campbell's leadership style was born and bred in the small Texas town of Glen Rose.
Long before he stole the show in HBO's "Hard Knocks," he was named the leader of the Lions. Long before he became Detroit's head coach, he played tight end for the Cowboys. Long before he donned the star of America's Team, he was a Texas A&M Aggie.
But before all of that... he was the pride of Glen Rose, a small Texas town about 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth. He's the youngest son of Larry and Betty Campbell.
And that demonstrative coach you know today has been that way for 40 years.
"It was that at 7 [years old] playing baseball," Betty Campbell told WFAA. "Whatever [Dan] played, it was intense. Passionate. You knew he was gonna be a leader... had that personality."
At Glen Rose High School, Dan "Boone" Campbell played football, basketball and ran track.
"Such a joy to coach," Richard Dye, Campbell's assistant coach for all three sports, said. "Quite frankly, I never coached anybody like that in my life."
One of Dan Campbell's former teammates in the 1990s, Alan West, is now the Somervell County sheriff, but a committed Cowboys fan.
"Well, you know we're always a Dallas Cowboys fan around here, but I've always pulled for wherever he's at," West said.
And West is not the only one.
"You see what I got on," Dye asked as he showed off the Detroit Lions shirt he wore during WFAA's interview. "I'm not rooting against the Cowboys. That would be against my character to do that. But I would never not support my peeps."
Cowboy or not, Dan Campbell will always be the pride of Glen Rose, Texas.
Larry and Betty Campbell will be in attendance on Sunday, rooting on their son wearing Lions jerseys with "Campbell" on the back. The Lions coach will also have many hometown friends
"It'll be good. I'll have family there," Dan Campbell said.
This will be the first time Campbell faces the Cowboys as a head coach.
More Texas headlines: