Detroit Lions: Sheila Hamp’s commitment is not Ford first

Sheila’s goal is to win

In an interview this past Tuesday, Chris Spielman discussed Sheila Ford Hamps’ involvement. He also was quick to point out what a positive involvement it is.

One of the biggest criticism’s that Sheila received when it was announced that she would take over principal ownership of the Lions was that she didn’t know anything about running a professional football team or the game itself.

This is a common criticism that has been bandied about for the entire Ford family. After all, if they knew anything about football these Lions would have been winners under their stewardship before now, right?

Because of how poorly the Lions have performed in general during the almost six decades that the Ford family has owned the club, that would be a fair accusation to make. However, Sheila is determined to make that notion a non-entity.

Considering that she is sitting in on virtually all the front office meetings regarding free agency, preparing for the draft, and discussing what moves to make with the current roster, it can certainly be considered that she is learning every aspect of her team that she can.

When discussing Sheila’s involvement Chris Spielman made one thing very clear that all Lions fans should be enthusiastic about; while she asked questions and made her opinions known, she’s leaving all the decisions up to Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell who were hired to do just that.

So while Sheila is willing to put in the work to learn and be part of the process of what makes the Lions tick, she understands how important it is to allow those she hired to make some hard decisions regarding the direction this team is headed and what players they will be attempting to stock the roster with.

Sheila’s goal is to win. While I’m sure she would like the team to be exciting as her Father always envisioned, she understands that there will be growing pains as the roster is overhauled until it is ready to compete while Campbell builds a new culture in the locker room.

Legitimate contenders aren’t built overnight. Maybe there will be a kind of magic that Dan Campbell and his staff bring to the team in addition to Brad Holmes adding pieces to the roster that allows them to be more competitive next season than expected, but we shouldn’t hold our breath.

One way or another Sheila is willing to see this reconstruction through by supporting her general manager and head coach by trusting them to do the job they were hired to do. It’s no longer about ‘Ford first’, it’s about building a winner by whatever means is necessary.