Dan Campbell didn’t catch the entire New York Jets–Cincinnati Bengals matchup on Sunday, but he knows one of his former assistants finally broke through — and he’s thrilled about it.

The Jets notched their first victory of the season on Sunday, ending a seven-game losing streak with a dramatic 39-38 win over the Bengals. The result also marked former Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn’s first win as the Jets’ head coach.

With that victory, both of Campbell’s ex-coordinators have now entered the win column since moving on from Detroit after last season.

Glenn departed his position as defensive coordinator to take the Jets’ top job, while ex-offensive coordinator Ben Johnson stayed within the division to lead the Chicago Bears, where he’s seeing early success at 4-3 after falling to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

When addressing reporters Monday, Campbell discussed what Glenn’s milestone could mean for others on his Lions staff with head coaching dreams, while also expressing what the win meant to him personally.

“Well, I don’t know what that means for that, but I did watch — I didn’t watch the whole game. I was checking the score and caught the ending. I keep up with AG. We text now and then. I’m a big fan, obviously. It was great to see. I know that was tough — they were down a couple of scores, and they battled back, stayed in it, and pulled it off. Getting that first one — it’s special. I’m happy for those guys.”

Johnson and Glenn understand how difficult it is to win in the NFL. Both were members of Campbell’s original staff in 2021, which started 0-10-1 before earning a walk-off Week 13 win at Ford Field over the Minnesota Vikings. From there, the Lions built three consecutive winning seasons, establishing a culture centered on “grit.”

Campbell went on to explain what Glenn and Johnson’s future success could mean for his coaching tree as it grows.

“I mean, I don’t know. I’m sure it won’t hurt, right? The more you win, the better it looks for everyone. But both of those guys — when you take over a new team, there’s a reason you were hired, because things weren’t going how that franchise wanted. It takes time. It really does. You never know how long it’ll take or when it’ll click. And, you know, patience always goes a long way.”