I like Detroit and the Detroit Lions. It's part of pulling for the underdog. It's also part of undercutting ignorant opinions about a city, troubled as it is, from people who've never been there and don't know it.
It's really too bad, however, that the Lions continue a longstanding tradition of hiring the wrong people to lead the franchise. Word is that the Ford family, owners of the Lions since 1963, are good people for whom to work. But are they too good, too nice? Something's certainly wrong in the talent management category at the top of the house. What better proof than the Lions are one of four NFL franchises never to appear in a Super Bowl? They have won only two playoff games in 63 years.
New Head Coach Dan Campbell's introductory press conference on Thursday suggests that the Lions are on yet another catastrophic path, littered as it is with remarkably poor assessments of leadership candidates. Campbell told media that, "I can give you 'coach speak' all day long ... you've had enough of that shit. This team is going to take on the identity of this city ... we're going to kick you in the teeth ... and when you knock us down, we're going to get up and on the way up we're going to bite a kneecap off ... and we're going to take the other kneecap ... and then we're going to take another hunk off you and before long we're going to be the last one standing."
Well how do you do, Coach Campbell? His steroidal, faux-machismo rage against the machine can be placed on an entirely new level of comedic performance. Honestly, it would have made wrestlers Hulk Hogan or Randy Savage blush. His performance was embarrassing and signals that he may not be sufficiently balanced and self-aware to lead an organization. To be fair, some people love this kind of talk, though it rarely ages well in reality. His defenders claim that this is exactly what players want to hear. Maybe cartoon-cliché notions of dumb footballers from the 1950s or '60s, but many of today's players are smart, multimillionaire businessmen who have no interest in an opponent reciprocally removing their kneecaps. Besides, Campbell's rhetoric invites foolish, undisciplined and game-altering penalties that have marred the Lions for so many years. Yes, words do matter.
I thought hiring Matt Millen as Lions' president & CEO in 2001 was utterly absurd. Even Millen confessed to William Clay Ford, Sr. that he wasn't qualified for the job. He certainly was not. And as is too often the case, it took the Fords seven ugly years to fire Millen despite many high-pitched campaigns to get rid of him. The Lions are still recovering from that choice. Similarly, I was dubious about Millen's hiring of Marty Mornhinweg in 2001, who led the Lions to a robust 5-27 record. I was stunned that the Clays hired Matt Patricia as head coach in 2018, removing the capable Jim Caldwell. Patricia drove the franchise to a 13-29-1 record. These folks are all Peter Principled, good at one level as a player or coordinator and utterly unable to lead at higher levels.
Let's hope Campbell succeeds. Detroit deserves it. Let's see if this sophomoric nonsense works with his players and Lions' fans. Don't hold your breath. Memo to Lions' owner Sheila Ford Hamp. You have to do better. Campbell does not merit a lucrative, six-year contract. He's never even served as a coordinator. That's the kind of deal that Chiefs' Super Bowl-winning Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy merits. Oh, that's right. You passed on him. And when Campbell crashes and burns in two or three years, you will need to remove him as head coach much sooner than has been the Lions' practice.
Image courtesy of Pride of Detroit.