Rod Wood is the new Detroit Lions team president

The Lions search for a new general manager is still on-going, but the hunt for a new team president to handle tasks once managed by Tom Lewand is now at an end. The Detroit Lions announced Thursday that they have hired Rod Wood as the new president.

#Lions have hired Rod Wood as team president & established advisory board for the GM search. More details: https://t.co/HqiHbVCovv

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) November 19, 2015

If Rod Wood is a name unfamiliar to football fans, it would not be a surprise: Wood does not come from a football background, but rather was formerly the president of Ford Estates, the private firm that managed the Ford family's holdings and investments. He previously held that position for eight years. As such, this could qualify as an internal hire for the Fords.

From Martha Ford on Thursday:

"Rod's familiarity with our organization in his role as President and CEO of Ford Estates and his accomplishments in the business world not only make him an ideal choice as Team President, but will also help ensure a smooth and positive transition for our organization."

You can read the full press release here.

Wood will fill in the gap left by Tom Lewand when he was fired during the Lions bye week, along with general manager Martin Mayhew. Despite his lack of football knowledge, his role will be strictly along the side of managing the business. He doesn't appear to be too much of a stranger to the Lions; Jim Caldwell professes to seeing Rod Wood around.

In addition, the Lions announced Thursday that they have now formally established an advisory board to handle the matter of the new Lions general manager -- to search among the available talent and make the final decision to hire. The board, however, is very threadbare at best at the current moment: it consists of members of the Ford clan and the newly minted president Rod Wood. It's currently unclear if there will be more additions in time, but here it is for now.

So the #Lions have an advisory board for general manager: Martha Ford, her four children and new team president Rod Wood. That's it.

— Michael Rothstein (@mikerothstein) November 19, 2015

Rod Wood is expected to hold a press conference Friday.