Good start but Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp needs to know when to stop
By Robert Jones
When the Detroit Lions hire a new general manager, Shelia needs to stop
The Detroit Lions once again made a whole city happy on Thanksgiving. The problem was that it was Houston, not our beloved Motor City. However, Sheila made up for that on Saturday.
After the Thanksgiving day debacle, Sheila Ford Hamp was left to decide if she should pull the plug now or do what her family has always done; wait until the season is over. Fans had visions of Sheila storming into the Lions locker room after that game and chopping off heads right then and there.
However, that has never been the hallmark of the Ford family. Oh sure there have been the very rare occasions that they have fired a head coach during the season, but generally speaking, you can count on them to let the string play out even if they have already made up their mind they want to make a change.
But Sheila made a proactive move and summoned general manager Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia into her office so she could direct them to the guillotine to complete their exit interview process. The most pressing order of business has now been accomplished.
Many fans thought she would wait until the end of the season so they could earn their paychecks, but for the truth to be told they haven’t legitimately earned their paychecks since… well since Quinn hired Patricia. Now that is over.
But there was little left to the imagination in the photo of Sheila Ford Hamp that MLive took during the Thanksgiving day massacre that somehow didn’t end with Matt Patricia’s blood being spilled right after the game. Yet one look at Sheila covering her face in disgust said it all.
At that point, the question was ‘when will it happen?’ Doing so now made a bold statement. Her comments after the firing should be encouraging to Lions fans. The only thing that truly matters now is that she prepares to make the most crucial decision of her life.