Getty Herman Moore celebrates a Lions touchdown in 1999.
After the Detroit Lions revealed the bold move to sack head coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn, it seems everyone has an opinion on what should come next for the franchise.
Former players like legendary wideout Herman Moore are no exception. After the Lions revealed the news of their changes over the weekend, Moore wasted no time tossing a name into the ring that he believes would work wonders in the front office, and it was none other than his former teammate and current Fox Sports broadcaster Chris Spielman.
I’m telling you guys …
Moore and Spielman played together in Detroit, and the idea of Spielman coming back to lead the franchise is clearly something that appeals to Moore considering how he believes his friend and former teammate understands not only the game, but the organization as a whole.
It’s an outside the box thought considering Spielman has no experience within an NFL front office, but his brother Rick Spielman does run the Minnesota Vikings. To that end, the experience is at least sort of in the bloodlines for Spielman, who often does Lions games and will point out what he believes the team is doing wrong on the field and off.
It’s unclear if Spielman would even be open to the role or would have any interest in leaving broadcasting, but Moore clearly doesn’t mind suggesting him as his top candidate at this point.
Herman Moore Explains Why Chris Spielman Fits for Lions GM
After presenting Spielman as a potential candidate he would support, Moore said he received pushback from several fans that referred to the potential situation as another case of a player turned broadcaster being picked erroneously to run the front office like Matt Millen was over 20 years ago in Detroit. Those situations are apples and oranges according to Moore, however.
Many of you are saying that we can’t have another former @NFL linebacker-turned-broadcaster.
I hear you, but I am going to have to disagree. Chris Spielman checks a lot more boxes than Matt Millen.
My first points:
1. He’s respected
2. He’s played at the highest level
Moore explained:
“One, Chris Spielman is respected by the organization, he’s respected by the players, he’s respected by the alums, he’s respected by the fans. When you come in and you have that type of respect from day one, that’s a big plus for any organization. The next thing you have with him is he’s played the game at the highest level. Yeah he was in the booth like Matt Millen. Yeah he was also former linebacker like Matt Millen. That’s about where it begins and ends. This is a guy who does not like to lose. He’s not going to accept losing. He’s not going to have excuses because our team got off to a bad start, or because our team had injuries. This is a guy who played, he was a throwback player and he wasn’t going to allow anyone to make excuses even when we played.”
Moore finished his pitch by tweeting the thought that there are plenty of qualified people who could take over in Detroit, but hinted the next leader of the team should have an understanding of the fan base and how things work within the organization.
To be clear, I agree that there are plenty of candidates out there for #Lions GM.
But I believe the person MUST intimately know the fanbase, the anatomy of the organization, and its operations.
That’s the missing piece with everyone who’s come in here.
The list of folks who meet this criteria are fairly slim considering Detroit hasn’t had a history of putting many quality executives into the league, but it’s clear Moore thinks Spielman would be one if he is only given the chance to lead.
Chris Spielman Career Highlights
Spielman was a dominating presence from the moment he stepped on the football field in Detroit as a linebacker in 1988 out of Ohio State. He played eight seasons with the Lions and was a four time Pro Bowl player as well as a three time All-Pro on defense. Statistically, he was dominating as well, racking up 1,181 tackles in his career and 10.5 sacks to go with 13 forced fumbles and 6 interceptions. Spielman finished his career in Buffalo and Cleveland, but became a natural fit in the broadcast booth working with ESPN’s college football coverage and later transitioning to Fox Sports and their NFL coverage.
Unlike his brother who got his start in Detroit in scouting and worked in several front offices, Spielman’s only high level experience in football management came in the AFL where he coached the Columbus Destroyers. In 2000, Spielman did interview for the Ohio State head coaching role that eventually went to Jim Tressel.
Will the Lions consider this and would Spielman even be interested? Stay tuned.