Is the Detroit Lions potential GM, head coach vacancy appealing?
Cons
After discussing what the Lions have going for them. Let’s dive into what scares away candidates.
Ownership
There is no secret about the Lions inept ownership. Most frustrating part is we don’t know why. You can point lack of success, stance, and direction. Regardless of your theory, we don’t get to see what the owners are doing every week.
One thing is inevitable, ownership is the constant. They’ve had multiple coaches, multiple quarterbacks. Two NFL legends and only one playoff win in the super-bowl era to show for it.
I’m not fond of blaming ownership, it’s lazy. Sadly, the Lions leave us with no other choice. For years they’ve been riddled with lack of success and the one thing that stays the same is the Ford family.
Media
Media in Detroit can be harsh at times. You’ve got the only radio station (for some reason) in 97.1 FM the ticket, which is filled with a ton of media personalities that tend to be more critical than lenient.
Then there are the reporters that feed into fans’ anger and over emphasize statements like “9-7 wasn’t good enough”. When the truth is that 9-7 actually wasn’t good enough and it was time to move on from former head coach Jim Caldwell.
Robert Saleh, Dearborn native and defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers pointed this out in an interview on 97.1 FM, The Ticket in January.
"“I’ll be honest. People, fans and media they may not understand it, but those players read some of that stuff. A lot of times the support from fans and media might be the kick in the butt that they need to thrust forward. Just like here in San Francisco — the media and the fans, they really have gotten on our backs. All that positive energy can only help.”"
Saleh, who is a popular candidate amongst fans, admits that this is something coaches think about. It also could be a factor when candidates are offered a job.
Player interest
Putting it simply, players don’t want to come to Detroit. It’s not a free agent destination. General managers that come here need to work around this. Here is an article explaining this more clearly.
Competing with teams like Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins , New York Giants, it’s going to be hard get players to join you unless they have some sort of tie to Detroit or is getting over paid.