Getty Lions owner Sheila Ford looks on before a 2021 game in Denver.
The Detroit Lions have not lived up to expectations at all to start the 2022 season, and as a result of that, plenty of folks are disappointed with how things have gone.
Naturally, the fans are in their feelings after such a start, but how about team ownership? Without a direct line, it can be hard for folks to know what Sheila Ford is feeling from time to time, but Dan Campbell recently provided a window into her thinking.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, October 19, Campbell was asked about his discussions with ownership, and specifically Ford’s thoughts on the season thus far. As he said to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press and others, she is supportive and understanding but also disappointed.
Dan Campbell on what Lions owner Sheila Ford thinks of this year’s start: “She understands. She’s very supportive but she’s frustrated and she should be. We all believe we should be better than where we’re at. But I do know that she’s all in.”
“Dan Campbell on what Lions owner Sheila Ford thinks of this year’s start: “She understands. She’s very supportive but she’s frustrated and she should be. We all believe we should be better than where we’re at. But I do know that she’s all in,” Birkett tweeted.
With this in mind, it’s clear Ford shares the same frustration that fans do with how the season has gone for the team thus far. It will be interesting to see if the Lions can turn things around this year.
Obviously, that’s something which Ford is likely hoping for in a big way in addition to her fanbase.
Ford Wanted Lions Sticking to Plan in Offseason
The Lions have a new culture in place and Ford has been setting the tone from the top. From there, Brad Holmes and Campbell have taken the lead. There has been optimism for the team even in spite of a rough 2021.
Naturally, fans were hungry for the team to make big and bold moves to shift their fortunes. The Lions took a more cautious approach to free agency, and the reasoning was, the owner wants to see the Lions built to last. That meant sacrificing the splash now and again, something which happened last offseason.
Speaking in an interview with DetroitLions.com reporter Dannie Rogers, Ford spoke about where she saw things in the rebuild. As she explained, the major focus for the team is sticking to the plan.
“Sticking to the plan is often hard, you have the temptation to ‘oh let’s go out and get this player, let’s do that.’ Well, that’s just not the way we want to build things. We want to build things with a solid foundation for the future so that we are consistently a terrific team,” she said at the time.
While many think the team should have made huge moves and spent bigger money, it’s clear that the plan was not geared that way for the Lions. The team smartly wanted to draft and develop and use free agency as a supplement. That’s how a team builds something that lasts, which is what Ford has alluded to when she has spoken.
Depending on how the Lions finish the 2023 season, it will be interesting to see if this plan changes at all based on any lingering frustration from this year.
Ford Deserves Time to Make Lions Right
While Detroit ownership has taken its lumps through the years, there is no reason for fans to be frustrated with Ford right now.
At this point, it’s clear she is doing everything she can to build a winner and build one the right way. As she stated in past interviews, it’s important for the team to be able to sustain things, which makes the draft vital in terms of building things right.
So far, the story has yet to be written for the Lions on more than a few fronts in terms of draft picks as well as young players. It seems as if the Lions have support from ownership and are trying hard to make things work.
Ford being frustrated with the way the season has gone is at least a positive for fans. Everyone will simply have to wait and see what that means in terms of how things play out this offseason for the franchise.