Power Ranking the Lions new coaching and front office hires

Detroit Lions: Coaching and Front Office Power Rankings

Moves that I love …

2. Chris Spielman- Special Assistant to Chairman, President/CEO

No, Spielman isn’t experienced in his new front-office role, but this move is about far more than that. This should be interpreted as a culture hire more than anything else, and the message that it sends is very encouraging.

Sadly, the Lions have gained a reputation around the league for alienating their own. Getting some of the old guard from those pretty good Lions teams of the 90s back in the mix is a great step (Spielman, Barry Sanders, I think Lomas Brown does a really good job on the radio broadcasts) to shed that perception.

Handling the Stafford trade in a way that was both respectful to him and also beneficial for the team was another strong symbolic move in this direction. Reconciling with Calvin Johnson in his Hall of Fame year would be another.

A final piece on Detroit Lions culture: I think the biggest takeaway from the Patriots experiment is the tried and true, “never try to be something you’re not. The Lions have a long and proud history.  People that act like the NFL was invented in 1967 need to realize that the Lions being losers is not written in the stars.

This is a team with real championship history, sleeping giants who have slept through the alarm, but they will wake up someday. To bring that process to life, what needs to happen is for the franchise as a whole to channel the great parts from the past, work that into the daily culture, and evolve into a better version of the LIONS, no one else.

That process is what the Chris Spielman hire means to me, and it’s why I’m all about it.