Miami Dolphins

'Dantallica': Dolphins head coach confesses love for Metallica

Published Oct. 22, 2015 4:46 p.m. ET

foxsports

Seeing as he's been a head coach in the NFL for less than a month, the world is still getting to know Dan Campbell of the Miami Dolphins.

He took over for Joe Philbin after he was fired and has immediately turned the team around -- for now. And while everyone knows Campbell is a tough guy who played tight end for more than a decade in the NFL, he let out a secret at practice on Thursday.

He's a huge Metallica fan. In fact, he once had the nickname "Dantallica," given to him by former teammate Shane Lechler.

"I’m a big country/Metallica fan. That’s kind of who I am," Campbell said via Hal Habib of the Palm Beach Post. "I like classic rock, too, but that was something -- I really wanted to see them. So I stayed up and I knew the ticket box was going to be open at 8 and it was probably going to be packed, so I just decided to stay up. Anyway, I got there, I think I was fourth in line. So it worked out."

When asked what his favorite songs are, Campbell responded with a few, although he acknowledged that he could go on forever.

"'Ride the Lightning'’s a good one," he said. "'Master of Puppets.' 'Unforgiven.' 'Nothing Else Matters' …"

It only seems fitting that Campbell -- a super tough guy whose appendix once exploded on a flight -- would be a fan of Metallica. Although it does seem strange that he's also a country fan. He probably wishes he could play Metallica at practice, but his players probably wouldn't be on board.

"Half those guys, I don’t even know if they’re going to know who they are," Campbell said. "It would probably do the opposite effect. It would probably drag them down."