Wednesday Notes: Ford Comes in Second in Worst Owners List

by Sean Yuille on May 13, 2009 11:25 AM EDT in Notes Comment 19 comments

New Lion Jason Hunter's deal is one year long and has a base salary of $1.01 million.
The Lions were aware of Lydon Murtha's back injury before they drafted him and knew he wouldn't immediately be ready.
Sammie Lee Hill was over 6 feet tall and weighed more than 200 pounds when he first started playing football at the age of 10. There was a rule preventing him from running the ball, but he once returned a kickoff for a touchdown by dragging four guys down the field. (HT: Highlight Reel)
As you saw in a FanPost yesterday, SI.com ranked the top 5 best and worst owners in the NFL. William Clay Ford was named the second-worst owner, behind only Al Davis. When I debated in my head who really is the worst owner between Ford and Davis, I kept coming back to the fact that it got so bad in Detroit that the team went 0-16. Is Al Davis out of his mind with some of the decisions he has made lately? Absolutely. However, let's not forget that Davis has won four titles (three of them Super Bowl championships) during his time as owner of the Raiders. The only success WCF can claim during his tenure as owner is a single playoff victory. I think if you take an overall look at both owners, it's clear that WCF is worse than Davis.
The NFL apparently wants to put a second regular season game overseas by 2010. This is just another step toward a Super Bowl eventually ending up in London.

Poll

Who is the worst owner in the NFL?

William Clay Ford

793 votes

Al Davis

472 votes

1265 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 19 comments | Share

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Comments

Historically, Ford is worse. At this moment, it's absolutely Al Davis

At least Ford fired Millen (finally) and replaced him with Mayhew, who looks to be a decent young GM so far.

Al Davis is his own “Matt Millen”, and he will never likely fire himself.

by n4ry4 on May 13, 2009 11:40 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I voted Al Davis

Because I voted as of this moment. I agree that historically Ford is worse, but no owner does more direct damage to his own organization than Al Davis. That Super Bowl appearance against Tampa Bay was a fluke.

by James L on May 13, 2009 12:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Disagree about the SB appearance

The Raiders were legit. No SB team is a fluke, you don’t get there if you are not good. Even the Cardinals this year were not a fluke, they earned it.

Al Davis is bad now, but a few seasons of being bad don’t replace the 20+ years he had as being one of the better ownerse.

Ford is the worst owner in football. He’s been at the bottom along with the Cardinals and Bengals owner for a looooong time. Davis is just getting there now.

That doesn’t make him the worst owner.

by FreeBradshaw on May 13, 2009 1:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You define fluke how you want to

I’ll define fluke my way. That Raiders team was a one hit wonder. Right now, May 13, 2009, and on a daily basis, Al Davis is screwing his team up. Right now, to me he is the worst owner. William Clay Ford doesn’t decide to draft track stars or sign every free agent Super Bowl MVP for outlandish sums of money. William Clay Ford didn’t make Millen an idiot. William Clay Ford is a bad owner because of inaction when action is required. But I will still put Al “Emperor Palpatine” Davis one notch below because his actions directly ruin his team on a daily basis. That’s all I have to say. You can leave your usual have-to-have-the-last-word comment below.

by James L on May 13, 2009 3:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Depends...

With regards to the players/personell…. Ford has to be one of THE best owners… State of the art facilities, great salary, great perks…

On the other hand… the only thing the fan has is an awesome stadium and a winless team.

The Fords are guilty of being too loyal and poor due diligence when selecting people to run their team.

by CLF on May 13, 2009 2:11 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

This is absolutely spot-on.

As much as we all hate the product on the field, the fact is that WCF is the exact kind owner that every NFL coach and front-office guy would love to work for. Infinitely deep pockets—and completely unafraid to write the big check if he’s made to believe it’s warranted. He just hires guys, lets them do their job, pays them well, and sticks by them until the bitter end. He might not hire the right guys, but other than that, he’s an A+ owner.

Peace
Ty @ The Lions in Winter

http://thelionsinwinter.blogspot.com

by ty@thelionsinwinter on May 13, 2009 2:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes Mr. Ford does get a bad rap! His passion for the Lions is beyond our comprehension.

If the Lions do win the big one. I’m sure you’ll see tears of joy in his eyes.
The curse of Bobby is over, I hope Schwartz delivers the goods no one deserves
the Lombardi more than the Lions fans and WCF is the biggest one.

by Runnin' Rebel on May 13, 2009 5:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Jason Taylor

is off the market. He’s back in Miami again.

by James L on May 13, 2009 4:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Where did the 300+ votes come from?

by SaginawGuy on May 13, 2009 4:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I voted for Ford overall

But I think Davis is worse right now, and hopefully in the future

2009 = The start of the Lions Golden Age (We hope).

by Hyperion Ecta on May 13, 2009 7:08 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

ford

i agree with Davis being worse now, but at least he has a super bowl win and two appearances. cant say the same for ford. hopefully schwartz, linehan and cunningham can help turn this thing around!

by big smoove on May 13, 2009 9:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I don't really see why this is news

Wow, the second to worst owner from SI.com( a site I never listen to). It’s a media originated opinion it isn’t a fact. Can we talk Football please?

by cincyboy on May 13, 2009 10:05 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Go talk football

on your site. The issue of WCF is a big deal to Lions fans. You can’t talk Lions football without talking about the Fords.

by JCruize on May 13, 2009 10:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Everyone else seems to be engaging in the conversation.

If you don’t want to, then don’t comment.

by AZ Yooper on May 14, 2009 2:14 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The only major mistake he made was getting Millen at GM

They got a QB who doesn’t show bust material which is good. They kept Daunte Culpepper which is a brilliant move IMO. They have been making moves like crazy so I think that already helped their image. You don’t have to go off like that.

by cincyboy on May 14, 2009 11:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's May

You have got to be kidding me.

Pride of Detroit, SB Nation's Lions Blog

by Sean Yuille on May 14, 2009 2:34 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I voted for Al Davis..

For what he did to Marcus Allen was criminal. For the way he fired Art Shell the first time.

by JCruize on May 13, 2009 10:37 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm still pissed

that my two favorite teams are at the top of the list.
Gonna go ahead and disagree with someone who said the Raiders were a fluke. They’ve been good for more than just that season. The Al Davis loves speed comments are only true in the last couple years. He may have paid extra millions to flash in the pan SB MVPs, but the Lions and Ford were overpaying 3rd stringers from SB teams for the last 8 years.
Right now, Lions get the benefit of the doubt because they’re trying to crawl out of the cellar, while the Raiders seem to be on the way down further. Davis seems to use his power more often and he’s just not seeing things right anymore. But his way worked to the tune of a couple SB champs, and a much more competitve team than the Lions have been in 50 years.

by MattyZ on May 14, 2009 1:45 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs