Detroit Lions: Don’t get the cart before the horse, Sheila

It has to be a combination that works together

Let’s all remember that it is very early in the process. The vast majority of candidates that Sheila will most likely be interested in are still employed with other NFL teams and she won’t be able to pursue them until their teams’ season is over.

If she decided to go outside the box and hire ESPN’s Louis Riddick, or former Lion turned broadcaster Chris Spielman, then she could make her move at any time, but that doesn’t seem like that will be the case. At least right now. Things can always change.

But if we listen to the rumors coming out of Allen Park, then Sheila might just be a little overzealous in her desire to turn this club around.

The whispers say that she may just hire a new head coach first, then a general manager.

This could certainly give her an opportunity to put her stamp on the organization and even get two blue chip names that might even make other team’s a little envious.

Yet there is still one thing that makes this type of move dangerous; there is the possibility that her chosen general manager and head coach may not work well together.

The obvious thought is that two talented people working together for the same cause shouldn’t have a problem. Unfortunately, that not always the case.

Think about back when Jerry Jones was the hot new owner of the Dallas Cowboys and he brought in Jimmie Johnson as his head coach. They built that team together from the ground up and turned them into a dominant force.

I still believe that had it not been for the clash of egos between Jones and Johnson that led to the mutual decision for Jimmie to leave Dallas, that those Cowboys would have been the first team to win three straight Super Bowls.

Sure the Cowboys bounced back and did win a third championship, but that was their final hurrah. Jones hasn’t been able to recapture that magic without Johnson. And Jimmie couldn’t make the Miami Dolphins champions on his own either.

There is a reason that owners hire a general manager and allow him to choose his head coach. This has to be a combination that can work together or it is destined to fail. Especially given the fact that sometimes, like Jones and Johnson, it doesn’t even work out when that general manager/owner, in that case, makes the hire.

There is plenty of time for Sheila to do her due diligence. This is her chance to be prepared to make an extremely important decision that will determine where the Lions go from here. Unlike the old saying, ‘if you’re going to make a mistake, make it an aggressive one’. Be smart and don’t put the cart before the horse.