Who are the Detroit Lions in 2017?
By Bruce Walker
Balance in the front office
Gone are the days when Russ Thomas and Chuck Schmidt were general managers tasked with the job of spending the least amount of money possible, not building a winning team. Head coaching carousels brought new hope every other year but little in the way of stability. Players were traded, drafted or released seemingly on a whim. We won’t discuss the black years of He-who-shall-not-be-named.
For the better part of five decades, the Lions were rudderless.
Martha Firestone Ford has overseen the hiring of Detroit Lions president Rod Wood and general manager Bob Quinn. These men have seen fit to retain head coach Jim Caldwell and most of the coaching staff. That has achieved a stability that was lacking for decades.
As a result, balance is allowed to grow through a single, common view from the management to the coaches to the players that has not been evident in this team in the past. The result is reflected on the field with disciplined, mistake-free football that leads to wins.
The Lions have direction. The offensive game plan supports the defensive game plan and vice-versa. Mistakes are made and quickly corrected. Players are drafted with specific roles in mind. You can look at each segment of the team and see strength. Later draft picks are consistently contributing.
Think about that for a moment.
Quinn has ensured that the key components of existing talent, most recently Glover Quin and Matthew Stafford have been retained, happy and motivated.