The Detroit Lions have endured lots of problems through the years, and many people have offered many theories about why this is the case.
From coaches to players, many folks have managed to bear the brunt of responsibility for what’s gone on. For years, fans have blamed ownership as well, but few from the national media have been willing to beat that drum.
That changed in a big way on Tuesday, November 1. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk was watching the NFL trade deadline play out, and once again, the Lions dumped a top young player in T.J. Hockenson. Reactions were pouring in regarding the team hitting the sell button once again, and Florio offered an all-timer.
As Florio explained on Twitter, in his mind, the common thread with all the Lions’ problems is the ownership from the Ford family. Nothing more, nothing less.
The Fords have owned the Lions since 1963. If you’re looking for the common thread that explains decades of dysfunction and underachievement and zero playoff wins since 1991, that’s it.
“The Fords have owned the Lions since 1963. If you’re looking for the common thread that explains decades of dysfunction and underachievement and zero playoff wins since 1991, that’s it,” Florio tweeted from the Pro Football Talk account.
There isn’t a lot to argue with here in terms of this account whatsoever, and the fans have felt the same way through the years. It’s interesting to see Florio being very vociferous about this on the internet when in the past, many outside of fans haven’t touched the issue.
Clearly, in his mind, the clear problem for the team rests within who owns them first and foremost.
Ford Family’s Ownership History of Lions
Ever since her husband William Clay Ford passed away in 2014, Martha Ford has been the primary owner of the Lions until a recent transfer to Sheila Ford.
The team has been in the family since 1963, and most fans would admit that through the years, there hasn’t been a ton of good that has played out while the Fords have been primary owners. The Lions have just one playoff win in that span, and haven’t won a division title since 1994. Misery has been the most common emotion associated with the Lions during the family’s tenure as owners.
The new generation of Fords have shown more of a propensity to shake things up. Bob Quinn was hired from outside the organization a few years back. The team has also been allowed to be aggressive in their pursuit of Matt Patricia. She’s allowed the team to spend to lure free agents to town and keep their own stars. They also didn’t hesitate to move on from Quinn and Patricia when the time was right.
Mr. Ford was more inclined to sit back and let associates run the show however they saw fit. Martha Ford has maintained her drive is strong to be able to win, and her ultimate goal is to win a Super Bowl. At her advancing age, that might be difficult unless the Lions get things right in a major hurry.
Lions fans like to cling to hopes the Ford family will sell, but the Lions are a Detroit product owned by a Detroit family that played a direct hand in the rise of the city. It’s impossible to see that changing in the short term, no matter how frustrated anyone might be with what’s transpired through the decades.
Sheila Ford Should Get Benefit of Doubt
While Detroit ownership has taken its lumps through the years for plenty of just reasons, there is no reason for fans to be frustrated with Sheila 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 long-term, 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 developing. 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, as is her speaking out to lower the temperature following a miserable start to the season.
Many from the outside blame ownership for all the failures just like fans do, and the only thing that figures to cure this is more winning in the future.
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NFL Pundit Throws Major Shade Directly at Lions Ownership for Failures