Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp sitting in on offensive, defensive meetings heading into free agency

Sheila Ford Hamp

Sheila Ford Hamp, Detroit Lions Principal Owner and Chairman, watches in the first half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions in Detroit, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)AP

ALLEN PARK -- William Clay Ford wasn’t very involved with the Detroit Lions during his final years as owner of the team. Martha Firestone Ford adopted a more hands-on approach when she took over in 2014, and it seems their daughter has been even more involved with team operations.

Sheila Ford Hamp is even sitting in on offensive and defensive meetings heading into the start of free agency on March 17.

“People always ask me how much Sheila is involved,” special assistant Chris Spielman said on Tuesday morning during an appearance on 97.1 The Ticket. “Well, Sheila has been involved by being in all these personnel meetings. She’s sat in two days of offensive free agency meetings and defensive free agency meetings.”

Owners have different styles across the league. Some, like Dallas’ Jerry Jones and Jacksonville’s Shad Khan, have given themselves control of roster building. Others, like the late William Clay Ford in Detroit, are never around at all. Martha Firestone Ford was much more active in her years of ownership with the Lions, including dropping in on training camp, attending almost every game, sitting in the draft room, talking to draft picks and potential free agents and so on.

Sheila Ford Hamp has been even more active since taking over for her mother last summer, including firing the general manager and head coach she inherited just five months after taking over the team. She heavily pursued Chris Spielman to join the franchise as her special assistant, and Spielman eventually agreed after a couple interviews with Ford Hamp.

“She’s the one that put me over the top when I was deciding whether to do this or not,” Spielman said. “She’s fabulous. Great leader. She’s a leader to me. I was like, ‘Let’s go!’ Felt like I talked to a head coach before a game. She gave me a locker-room speech, and I was ready to run through the hotel door in Cincinnati.”

Ford Hamp was involved in the subsequent searches for a new general manager (Brad Holmes) and head coach (Dan Campbell), and now she’s sitting in on those guys’ meetings as Detroit prepares for free agency and the draft, which will be critical to forming the backbone of the new approach.

That’s not unheard of around the NFL, and Spielman was very clear that football people like Holmes and Campbell have the final say on all decisions. But it’s certainly a more active ownership approach than we’ve seen in Detroit, as the new owner tries to understand all the nooks and crannies of her organization.

She even took Chris Spielman’s office at the training facility.

“I had an office when I got here, and all of the sudden I’m on the corner next to the exit door,” Spielman told The Ticket. “So what happened? Well, Sheila wants this office because it’s right in the middle of everything, which is awesome. And it just goes to show her commitment and what she wants and how involved she is being in these meetings and giving her opinion, which is fun. It’s cool to see the commitment that she has.”

The Lions are busy preparing for their first free agency period of the new era. Campbell and Holmes share control of the roster, part of a new, more collaborative team culture in the post-Quinntricia era in Detroit. Spielman and ownership are apparently involved in the process as well, and Spielman says they’ve already had some healthy disagreements.

“I’ve been around this every day now for the last two months,” Spielman said. “I’ve sat in the college scout meetings, and the communication between the scouts and the ability to identify what type of player you want, and have that clear and communicated, and everybody have a voice and opinion on what type of player that is, and sometimes there are disagreements, but disagreements are good because you can hash out and always give your why. And so between the pro staff and the college staff and Brad Holmes leading it, and Dan and Brad leading personnel meetings, it’s clear to me everybody is on the same page with what I believe is productive disagreement at times.”

What gives Detroit hope that it’s finally on the right track after so many failed attempts at rebuilding?

“Well, I don’t have any guarantees,” Spielman said. “I think you (just have to) give yourself the best opportunity to win, right? And to build and to do it right? Here’s how I look at it: As long as during the interview process, if Brad Holmes says, ‘OK, I want everybody’s opinion, I want collaboration,’ -- he said that during the interview -- and then I actually witnessed it with his actions, that’s a good sign for fans. Dan Campbell said in his interview that, ‘I will get coaches to come coach with me.’ ... Not only does he bring in a former head coach as offensive coordinator, Anthony Lynn, but he brought in two guys who interviewed for head coaching jobs -- that some people view as future head coaches -- in Aaron Glenn and Duce Staley. And by the way, let’s help bring in more talent with former head coach Dom Capers as a senior assistant.

“I’ve always looked at coaches this way: The great coaches surround themselves with talented people. Some coaches maybe aren’t as secure as Dan Campbell, and might not hire guys they deem a threat. Dan and Brad have done exactly what they said they would during the interview process. Because anybody can say anything during the interview process until we see it with our own eyes, which I have, and now I feel like we’re giving ourselves the best chance to win as soon as possible. And I don’t know when that’s going to be, but I’m very confident that will happen.”

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