Bill Ford Jr. talks about Lions' ownership approach

Following the passing of William Clay Ford earlier this month, ownership of the Detroit Lions was transferred to Martha Ford. Bill Ford Jr. stayed on as the vice chairman of the team, and he said last Monday that he is planning to become more involved with the franchise going forward. In recent years, he's really been the face of the Lions' ownership, so this news comes as no surprise.

What's also not a surprise is that Ford Jr. is not planning to become a hands-on type of owner who is involved with every move that is made on the football side of the business. In other words, don't expect him to suddenly take on a Jerry Jones type of role where he is holding weekly press conferences and is involved in personnel decisions.

Ford Jr: "There are different ownership models around the league. I've never felt a terribly hands-on model would fit our organization well"

— Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke) March 24, 2014

In essence, the Lions' ownership is going to take the same approach as it did under William Clay Ford. Ownership will still likely have to sign off on major moves like firing the head coach, handing out a big-time contract extension and so on. However, on a day-to-day basis, Martin Mayhew and Tom Lewand will essentially be running the football side of the operation and make all of the decisions related to personnel and the salary cap.