5 NFL franchises in disarray we can be thankful aren't the Lions (anymore)

For the better part of six decades, since their last championship in 1957, the Detroit Lions were a picture of disarray in parallel with dysfunction. Two future Hall of Famers (Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson) retired early with gas left in the tank as the rampant losing became too much.

Sheila Ford Hamp became the Lions' principal owner in the summer of 2020, and she went about changing what was wrong.

The first big move was to fire head coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn, after an ugly Thanksgiving Day loss to the Houston Texans. Then former Lions linebacker Chris Spielman was brought back to the organization in a multi-faceted advisory role. Spielman played a role in the hiring of general manager Brad Holmes, then came the hiring of head coach Dan Campbell.

So the Lions are no longer a poster boy for an NFL organization in disarray/dysfunction. For once, and probably for the foreseeable future, Lions fans can look at other organizations and be glad their team is not in that constant cycle of disarray and dysfunction.

Here are five franchises we can be thankful are not the Lions-not anymore.

5 NFL franchises in disarray we should be thankful aren't the Lions (anymore)

5. Jacksonville Jaguars

For some reason, the 2-9 Jaguars did not fire head coach Doug Pederson during their Week 12 bye. That's probably due to lack of suitable interim head coach options more than anything.

The Jaguars aren't in quite as much disarray as some others on this list. In a vacuum, a new general manager (likely) and head coach (all but a lock) will come into a situation that can be turned around quickly, with some young talent and a high draft pick in April. But owner Shad Khan has not hired well lately, so there's no guarantee he gets the new general manager hire right and that new lead executive hires the right head coach (trying to poach from the Lions might be a good idea though).

It seems like a lot longer ago than the 2017 season that the Jaguars reached the AFC Championship Game. A few AFC South titles have happened since, but that's nothing to write home about. The Lions got a close look at this year's Jaguars before they went to their bye, and they are surely thankful to not be in anywhere close to a similar place.