Marion Campbell Has Made a Fast Change in the Falcon Defense

The name Marion Campbell meant the Atlanta Falcons suddenly weren’t defensive patsies any more, and that meant trouble for the rest of the NFC West.

The division-leading Falcons’ new defensive coordinator has the NFL team giving up 16.9 points per game, compared with 28.2 at the same time last year.

The difference of two touchdowns a game “is what everybody expected,” said Ram General Manager Jack Faulkner. “I think as soon as Marion came to Atlanta, I knew we were in trouble, and so was everyone else in our division. Nobody can get the job done quicker than him.”

“Marion is one of the great coaches in our business, and one of the reasons it’s happened so fast in Atlanta is because he can get players to believe in him right away,” said San Diego Chargers General Manager John Sanders. “He has that ability. Players trust him.”

Faulkner, who was Campbell’s assistant coach in Minnesota in the 1960s, called his former boss “an extremely easygoing guy. You hardly ever see him get excited. He’s a big old country boy.

“But let me tell you about Marion. You don’t mess with him. You don’t want to get him mad. When he was a player, he was as physically and mentally tough as anybody who played the game in his era. He never did get the recognition he deserved, but Swamp Fox was one heckuva player.”

Campbell, who picked up the Swamp Fox nickname while an All-SEC defensive lineman at Georgia, played for San Francisco and Philadelphia. He made the pro bowl in 1960 and 1961.

Campbell has said the reason for the Atlanta turnaround is he had the opportunity to bring a few players and his defensive coaches with him from Philadelphia.

One who agreed, at least in part, was Bobby Beathard, Washington Redskin general manager who once scouted for Atlanta.

“Not to take anything away from Marion, but if you’re going to talk about that defense, you have to talk about Fred Bruney,” the secondary coach, Beathard said. “Those two are inseparable. I think the world of those guys. They can teach that defense and they get players to believe in that defense.”

Campbell’s defense starts with three down linemen and four linebackers, then changes to meet the down and distance on every play.

“Marion’s defense is very aggressive, very tough, very hard-hitting.” Beathard said. “Marion is a big proponent of the pass rush. He wants his people coming off the ball and raising hell. And that’s exactly what they do.”