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Detroit Lions owner Martha Ford has not said much publicly since inheriting the team in 2014 following the death of her husband William Clay Ford. Her reputation, therefore, has been somewhat muted.
However, just a year into her reign, she made big, sweeping changes to the team. Following a 1-7 start, she fired both team president Tom Lewand and general manager Martin Mayhew. Many believed that was a sign she was a little more proactive than her predecessor, seeing as her husband allowed someone like Matt Millen to stay employed for nearly eight seasons despite the team going through one of the worst stretches in NFL history.
Rod Wood, the person who assumed Lewand’s job as team president, believes that’s exactly the case. Speaking at a fan event this week, Wood gave high praise for the Lions’ owner (via Fox 17 West Michigan through Dave Birkett):
“I think Mrs. Ford is a very different owner than her husband and has a lot less patience and a lot less tolerance for mediocrity, which is why we’ve made some of the changes that we’ve made,” Wood said.
Of course, Wood isn’t exactly the most impartial of observers, seeing as Mrs. Ford was the one who hired him. However, he had been working with the Ford family for eight years prior to his hiring to the Detroit Lions organization and likely knew William Clay Sr. quite well.
- This is a somewhat interesting—albeit completely useless—piece of information regarding Kerryon Johnson and Trey Flowers:
Although they are teammates now, @Lions RB @AyeyoKEJO & DE @III_Flowers were rivals on the basketball court in Huntsville, Ala.
— Detroit Lions PR (@LionsPR) May 6, 2019
Johnson attended @mamustang and played varsity as an 8th-grader, competing against Flowers, a senior, at @columbiahschool during the 2010-11 season. pic.twitter.com/v9gl7DcOlX
- Yahoo Sports’ Eric Edholm compiled the 10 worst draft classes since the year 2000. The Detroit Lions show up exactly ZERO TIMES on the list. Even in Edholm’s honorable mentions, the Lions don’t make an appearance.
- Darius Slay’s wife, Jennifer, is the best wife he could ask for:
I wanted to do something nice for my husband. He works so hard & loves what he does as much as I love watching him so I decided to give him something he’ll always have & remember throughout his career! How cool is this book!? I’ll add more to it later! #OnePride I love you Slay pic.twitter.com/8w8uViMxqv
— Jennifer Slay♥️ (@Jennwilliams23) May 6, 2019
- The Draft Network’s Brad Kelly broke down his favorite and least favorite picks from the Lions’ 2019 draft class, concluding with his overall grade.
- Who here ordered a dozen GIFs of T.J. Hockenson, now available for use on Twitter?
— Brady (@BradyMcAtamney) May 3, 2019
- One 53-man roster prediction not enough for you today? Scott Warheit of Lions Wire has one, too.