3. Ownership for most of the past 60-plus years
Not to kick dirt on a dead man, but the Lions won 41 percent of their games during William Clay Ford Sr.’s run as principal owner from 1963 until he passed away in 2014. That level of ineptitude often starts at the top with ownership and organizational culture, which is hard to turn around quickly when the team remains in the ownership of the Ford family like it has.
Ford Sr. hired inept general managers and front office executives, who then hired coaches and drafted players who failed. It’s truly a domino effect, starting with bad hires to key positions. It’s a cycle the Lions only now seem to be working their way somewhat out of, with head coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes leading the way.
To their credit, Lions’ ownership does not meddle in football matters and is only heard from when votes of confidence have to be given or new hires are made. Those two things seem to happen too often though.
Lions fans often like to lean into “we need a new/better owner” when things are going badly. It’s an understandable sentiment though, and puts ownership on this list rather easily. The face for the Mount Rushmore of hatred would be Ford Sr.’s.