The Detroit Lions have some very important decisions to make during the coming offseason, including hiring a new general manager and head coach to replace Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia, who were both fired following a Thanksgiving Day debacle against the Houston Texans.
Though the final say will come from Lions’ owner Sheila Ford Hamp, she will be influenced by former Lions’ LB, Chris Spielman, who was hired as a special assistant.
When Spielman was hired, many Lions’ fans were very excited to have somebody with actual football knowledge (unlike Ford Hamp and president Rod Wood) helping to make football decisions.
But could the move to hire Spielman backfire for the Lions?
Well, according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, some candidates are “leery” of the hire, and that the Lions will have to be very clear when they explain Spielman’s role in the organization.
From Sports Illustrated:
I think Lions owner Sheila Ford was very well-intentioned with the hire of Chris Spielman, and that it was a good step toward unifying an organization that’s long lacked an overarching culture—with the business side located downtown and the football side in the suburbs. But I also can tell you that enough candidates are leery of the setup that I do believe the Lions are going to have to be very clear in explaining Spielman’s role within the organization, and how it’ll intertwine with the other football folks.
Breer brings up a heck of a point here. Any candidate who interviews with the Lions will want assurance that they are not going to have to report to Spielman when it comes to making decisions.
It will be very interesting to see how this all plays out. Could the Lions miss out on certain candidates because of the fear that Spielman will have his hand in the cookie jar too often?
Why *shouldn’t* the football operations team report to Spielman? He is a football guy with great football experience and if upper management want to create a consistent football-first winning culture, they should have one voice from where the culture emanates. This seems like the way it should be done. Let’s face it, the way it’s been done for the past 60 years isn’t working.
i only want a GM and HC who want Spielman around
Any candidate concerned about having Chris Spielman around is the wrong candidate.
Counterpoint: see Matt Millen.
Spielman is more cerebral than Fat Millen, brother cousin of Fat Patricia