Detroit Lions star Aidan Hutchinson wants to go to the Super Bowl next season.
The Lions made a deep playoff run this past season, coming within a game of reaching the Super Bowl for the first time. Detroit led 24-7 before San Francisco made a comeback to win the NFC Championship and advance to Super Bowl LVIII.
The 23-year-old defensive end — who is coming off of a huge year after posting 11.5 sacks in his first Pro Bowl season — acknowledges that the mentality next season for the Lions is Super Bowl or bust.
"It sucked losing that game. But I feel like — win or lose that game — and let's say we go on to the Super Bowl, it's always Super Bowl or bust next year," says Hutchinson during an interview. "That's always the expectation."
Detroit is obviously coming off of one heck of a season. With a young nucleus led by Hutchinson, quarterback Jared Goff and head coach Dan Campbell, the Lions not only finished 12-5 and won a division title for the first time since 1993, they won a playoff game for the first time since 1991.
Unsurprisingly, Campbell — who is known for being candid and a straight shooter — said that the Lions are going to the Super Bowl next year during Detroit's exit meetings, according to Hutchinson.
MORE FOR YOU
"I'm not surprised Dan said that," says Hutchinson. "We were all fired up when he was saying that."
The Lions are currently set up well to make another deep playoff run. Not only are they bringing back essentially their entire core from last season, they just re-signed star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown — $77 million guaranteed, most ever for a wideout — and two-time Pro Bowler Penei Sewell — $112 million with $85 million guaranteed, the largest deal ever for an offensive lineman — to record-setting contracts.
Hutchinson — who is a Michigan native and played college ball for the Michigan Wolverines — explained what the feeling was like giving the city of Detroit a taste of playoff success for the first time in over three decades.
“It was everything I wanted it to be and more,” said Hutchinson. “This past year was so historic. It was bigger than our team. It was that Detroit grit, Detroit mentality. All the people in Detroit, that's what we were embodying.”
The Wolverines alum — who was born in Plymouth, which is just 30 mins away from Detroit — explains how the entire state of Michigan became united over the Lions' most recent playoff run.
"It really felt like it was more than just Detroit cheering and rooting for everybody," says Hutchinson. "It really unites. It unites the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartan fans. It united everybody."
The former Wolverines standout also detailed what it was like seeing his school and his former head coach, Jim Harbaugh, finally win the National Championship. Hutchinson played for four years under Harbaugh, with his 2021 squad advancing to the College Football Playoff before losing in the semifinals. His dad, Chris, also played at Michigan back in the late 80's and early 90's.
"It felt so great," said Hutchinson while smiling. "A lot of guys on that team, I played with a few of them. I felt like the guys on my 2021 team, we walked so that this team could run. It was a good year for Michigan sports. But more importantly, those guys went through so much adversity this past year, with all of the allegations. To be able to mentally compartmentalize that and win the national championship is unbelievable."
Hutchinson singles out Campbell and Harbaugh as great coaches because of their "passion" for the game and that they're both "gritty" dudes who love football. It's no coincidence that both Campbell and Harbaugh enjoyed long careers in the NFL, with both coaches spending over a decade in the league as players.
The former No. 2 overall pick is speaking on behalf of his partnership with Rocket Mortgage and their "Dreammate" campaign. The campaign pays tribute to the support system that people have in achieving their goals. In Hutchinson's case, it's the strong support of his family — including his sisters Mia and Aria and his mother Melissa — in helping him achieve success in his football career.
"Every step of the way — all the adversity that I've been through, in high school, college, NFL — it always goes back to going over to my parents' house and talking to my mom and my sisters,” says Hutchinson of his family’s support. “Having those family discussions and just always having them there for me just to support me in those tough times when you need it the most.”
Hutchinson admits that being drafted by his hometown team made the transition to the NFL a lot easier compared to what most players go through. He says that most guys are “far away from their families,” which often results in feeling lonely. In Hutchinson’s case, it’s like he never left home.
Aidan's mother, Melissa, explains how the family navigates through his challenges by sticking together.
"We just stick together and everything that comes our way because we all work with Aidan in some capacity as well," says Hutchinson's mother, Melissa. "We just walk through it as a group. It's been a really great blessing to have him in town."
As Aidan's sister Mia details, the "Dreammate" campaign is actually for a good cause because it donates to Habitat for Humanity — a nonprofit that helps families with affordable housing.
"Rocket Mortgage is encouraging their consumers to post about their ‘dreammate’ story and then with the hashtag #rocketdreammates on socials ," says Mia. "Every time someone does that, they donate to Habitat for Humanity. It's a really important campaign — not only to highlight the dreammates we have in our lives — but it's doing something amazing for the community in the world."
Mia explains how Aidan and their sister, Aria, have always been close. She reveals that the Lions star actually wasn't allowed to play tackle football until seventh grade due to their father's wishes. However, Aidan participated in competitive dance with his sisters — which may have helped develop his skills on the football field.
"Our dad wouldn't let Aidan play tackle until seventh grade," explains Mia. "So he played flag football. But he also did competitive dance with my sister and I, which is really cool because we had a huge team of male hip hop dancers. I think it was really unique for a group of three siblings to do one activity that was very athletic. We all were on the same team and it was really cool because it harbored that closeness that we have now."
Aidan actually attributes his spin move on the football field to the dance classes he took with his sisters while growing up, saying it goes “hand in hand.”
His mother agrees with the notion that the dance classes helped Aidan develop into the pass-rushing threat that he is today.
“It does. The spin move — I said it's nothing but choreography,” says Melissa while laughing. “It translates.”
And while Hutchinson does possess a killer spin move and has experienced tremendous success over his first two seasons, he remains vocal that winning a Super Bowl ring and a Defensive Player of the Year award is on his to-do list.
“The objectives are always getting the rings,” says Hutchinson. “You're always striving for Defensive Player of the Year and maybe things bigger than that in the future.”
