Are the Detroit Lions ‘Built Quinn Tough?’
Who runs this team?
The elephant in the room for many fans surrounds how Quinn will respond to the team’s efforts this year. Many fans, especially that have followed the team for years, believe that Quinn’s hands are, or will be, tied by ownership.
Martha Firestone Ford assumed ownership after William Clay Ford passed away in 2014. The knock on the owners has always been loyalty to people they have hired, to the point of ostracizing their fans.
Given the organization’s struggles, it seems odd to Detroiters that the Fords would cling to employees that do not produce results, especially, championships.
Consistently, though, the Fords have kept general managers and coaches around who could not bring division titles, or championships back to Detroit.
Martha is an avowed Jim Caldwell fan. In 2016, she seemed to give him the seal of approval.
Martha Ford said, "I love Jim Caldwell," but declined to share her thoughts on his status.
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) January 11, 2016
Michael Rothstein, ESPN writer, had this to say on Christmas day:
"Caldwell is a damning 3-23 against teams that finished the season with winning records in his tenure with the Lions — including 0-6 in 2016 and 1-6 this season. Those are rough numbers."
The Lions front office will not comment on Jim Caldwell’s status following this season, including Quinn.