OT: Detroit Lions hire Rod Wood as president
The team has hired Rod Wood, the former CEO of Ford Estates, to be the new head of the franchise. This comes two weeks after the Lions fired team president Tom Lewand and general manager Martin Mayhew as a signal of change within the organization after a 1-7 start to the season. The Lions also announced they have established an advisory board to search for a new GM. It consists of owner Martha Ford, her four children and Wood. Martha Ford said the advisory board potentially will use specific members of the NFL's Career Development Advisory Panel to assist in the search.
According to Schefter, Lions have not hired a search firm to help find a new GM.
I was afraid this might happen. Let's hope they tank the rest of the way or there's a chance Caldwell keeps his job and Sheldon White is named permanent GM.
November 19th, 2015 at 4:48 PM ^
The Lions have named Rod Wood as the new team president. Wood has been the President and CEO of Ford Estates since 2007. He graduated from the University of Michigan.
Well at least he received a quality education.
November 19th, 2015 at 5:34 PM ^
I'm sure no one can name a recent debacle headed up by a Michigan Grad, amiright?
November 19th, 2015 at 5:38 PM ^
November 19th, 2015 at 6:45 PM ^
November 19th, 2015 at 4:49 PM ^
November 19th, 2015 at 5:14 PM ^
I've said this for years. The Lions will continue to suck until the Fords sell the team. As soon as I moved to Seattle in 1993 I adopted the Seahawks and never looked back. What a joke.
November 20th, 2015 at 10:33 AM ^
Congrats on your new team! I don't blame you for moving on especially since you have a winner in the Hawks.
But I don't think I've ever been so struck by a stark contradiction as the one between your comments about the Lions and the quote in your signature.
"True loyalty is that quality of service that grows under adversity and expands in defeat. Any street urchin can shout applause in victory, but it takes character to stand fast in defeat. One is noise the other, loyalty."
Not that there's that many of us left but we must be the most truely loyal eva!
And I'll always root for the Lions, at least I'll root for them to lose their ownership.
MARTHA SET MY PLAYERS FREE!
November 19th, 2015 at 5:21 PM ^
There's a lot of reasons to hate the Lions, but I'm not sure if this is one. Or at least, I have no idea yet. President handles the business side of things for the most part, so if it seems like he can do it then that's great.
GM is the much more crucial hire here, as they'll control personnel. If we hire a good GM, then we should be in good shape. That being said, its the lions, I dont know if they'll ever be able to hire a good GM.
November 19th, 2015 at 6:58 PM ^
The so-called "Curse of Bobby Layne" was actually an observation/prediction. When WCF got control of the front office, his first move was to trade Layne. It was then that Layne made his prediction that the Lions "won't do anything for fifty years."
I agree with the poster who said something I have been saying for years. As long as the Ford family owns the Lions, they will continue to suck. Hiring a football president from the famliy business just guarantees we will continue to see more of the same.
56 years of shit and counting: thanks, Ford family.
November 19th, 2015 at 9:16 PM ^
November 20th, 2015 at 2:41 PM ^
Layne was traded in 1958. Ford bought the team the day Kennedy was killed (1963)...although I believe the sale did not go through until 64.
Layne was injured en route to the championship, and Tobin Rote led the team the rest of the way. This caused management to feel that they could win with Tobin, and no longer needed the leader and star that was the foundation of the Lions 50's 'dynasty'.
Layne felt betrayed, and after being traded to Pittsburgh made his famous prediction.
The basis of your comment about the Fords is completely accurate.
November 20th, 2015 at 4:18 PM ^
JFK day
Tater... WCF took control of the Lions the same day that JFK was assisinated. Nov. 22, 1963. This is the absolute truth!
If there is any curse at all...its THE CURSE OF JFK.
Bobby Lane was traded 5 years prior to this and had nothing to do with WCF.
WCF was an imbecile. Silver spoon kid who never accomplished anything in his life. A rich loser.
November 20th, 2015 at 8:53 AM ^
I disagree. If you're serious about making this team a winner then you need to get someone in there that has a solid football background and a track record. If nothing else but to show your future GM you're serious and show your fan base you're serious. Not give it to an existing employee. Then you top that off with creating a GM search team full of family members??
November 19th, 2015 at 11:09 PM ^
Never thought I would but I quit followning them. When I moved from Michigan, I doubled down on all my teams...my friends and I made a "Lions Bar" happen. Connection to home....yada yada...
But that couple of years that so many players got arrested for things...I finally realized, why do I even *want* to feel connected to the colors these people wear?
With the NFL doing so much to cover themselves, not caring about head injuries, ignoring wife beatings until videos come out, taking money from the government to pretend to honor troops. It's just not fun for me anymore. Seems like supporting a negative.
I love football, but I guess I'm kinda done with the pro version.
November 19th, 2015 at 4:50 PM ^
A very Lions hire...
November 19th, 2015 at 4:50 PM ^
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
November 19th, 2015 at 5:14 PM ^
UM is doing pretty well by hiring a competent person to be the "president" of their athletic programs. Let's wait and see.
November 19th, 2015 at 4:50 PM ^
Uhh, Sheldon White, the guy under Mayhew, who was the guy under one Matt Millen? That's a hell of a tree.
November 19th, 2015 at 4:50 PM ^
I'm less interested in the President position than I am in the GM position. I think it's one of those weird quirks about professional sports teams. The President position is usually more business-centric, whereas the GM is team/personnel.
Here's to hoping this guy knows how to pick 'em.
November 19th, 2015 at 4:57 PM ^
Rumors are that his son, Morning, will be the GM.
November 19th, 2015 at 5:03 PM ^
Actual video of Morning Wood getting the news that he'd be the next GM of the Lions.
November 19th, 2015 at 4:52 PM ^
To be fair, teams can get away with hiring a president that has no prior sports management experience, because ultimately the president's role is the financial bottom line, establishing the culture of the organization, maybe contract negotiation, and provide the general manager with all the necessary resources he/she needs to succeed. The president has little to nothing to do with the actual on-field product or player personnel.
That being said, this guy they hired is nowhere near qualified to be the president of an NFL franchise. Managing the Ford Estate is basically being a glorified financial manager. To run an NFL team, you have to have a strong enough understanding of the team's culture, and have a background or at least a solid enough basic understanding in areas such as sponsorship, promotions, sales, community relations, contract negotiation/law, facilities, employee management, crisis management, media, and television/radio that would allow them to bring in quality personnel in those areas that would help the organization meet the presidents mission statement, goals, and values (long sentence, I know). Oh, he provided the Ford family with some lifetime management services, whoopty doo!
It's laughable to think this guy is going to step into a borderline billion dollar business and gain the respect of the employees there who have crawled and fought their way to the positions they have. This does not provide me the confidence that Martha Ford is going to give two shits about who gets hired as the GM.
November 19th, 2015 at 4:58 PM ^
Also to be fair, I did read an article a day or two after the firings that listed this guy as a potential candidate for this position. I think that article also mentioned that he was around the team a fair amount.
I'm not sure that his role at Ford Estates was nothing but a financial manager. I'm not sure, but I would think, in that role, he would check off most of the boxes you listed.
Listen - in this position, you're nothing more than a Ford family liason. As long as the guy picks the right GM and gives that guy everything he needs to build a successful organization, this pick is a winner.
Until the GM is picked, we still don't know.
Keep your fingers crossed.
November 19th, 2015 at 5:46 PM ^
So great, he has a good financial mind and can manage their investments, but you are telling me that no one else in any of the other NFL front offices (there are 31 other teams who suck less) was capable or qualified???
November 19th, 2015 at 8:13 PM ^
That's not what I'm telling you at all. How do you get that from what I wrote?
I'd be willing to bet there were dozens of people in other NFL front offices (who suck less) that were capable or qualified.
That's not what this is about, though. This was about the Ford familly hiring someone to run this organization, someone with whom they were familiar. No one of those dozens that were more qualified to run a team checked that box.
Do you think Tom Lewan was qualified to be President? No, he wasn't. He was a cap-ologist back when there were cap-ologists. The only real box he checked on those qualifications is he was close with Bill Jr.
Do I wish they had hired someone from one of those teams, I'm not sure. If you hire someone from those teams, they're going to want to hire someone they know as a GM. Would that be the very best person for the GM job?
The advantage (potential advantage, so long as they don't fuck it up) of hiring from outside the NFL is that it still leaves the GM hiring process wide open for the best possible candidate.
I don't know about you, but I'm not going to lose any sleep hoping the Lions don't fuck this up.
November 19th, 2015 at 5:58 PM ^
All the more reason why he should not have been hired. This team needed a clean break from its past. Leave it to the Lions to once again put favoritism, cronyism, and nepotism above winning.
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November 19th, 2015 at 4:51 PM ^
November 19th, 2015 at 4:52 PM ^
Ugh.
They couldn't let us enjoy the Green Bay win for a week? No. Hire another family buddy and crush the souls of lions fans everywhere.
November 19th, 2015 at 4:52 PM ^
Insert some joke about porn name. #tired.
November 19th, 2015 at 4:56 PM ^
Nothing will ever change as long as the Fords are in charge.
November 19th, 2015 at 4:58 PM ^
We need Brother Mouzone to come in from NYC and clean this shit up.
November 19th, 2015 at 5:03 PM ^
He and I aren't on the best terms right now...
November 19th, 2015 at 7:12 PM ^
November 19th, 2015 at 5:00 PM ^
Lions. Lions. Lions. smh (sigh)
November 19th, 2015 at 5:06 PM ^
Ron Wood? Didn't he use to play with the Stones?
November 19th, 2015 at 5:20 PM ^
Yeah, I'm not thrilled about this hire, I realize it's a business side of football position, it still would have been nice to have someone with some football background.
They better hire a competent GM cause I'm sick of this shit!!!!
November 19th, 2015 at 5:30 PM ^
is still one of The Stones. He and Mick
couldn't possibly do worse than the clowns that have run the Lions organization for the last half-century.
November 19th, 2015 at 5:48 PM ^
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction seems quite appropriate for a Lolcats fan theme song.
November 19th, 2015 at 6:00 PM ^
November 19th, 2015 at 5:10 PM ^
When I first heard Martha speak out, I thought it was a good sign, but that was on the radio. I later watched it on TV and I could almost literally see bullshit pouring out of her mouth.
Seeing her just read a piece of paper that someone else wrote for her was pretty annoying. She has no clue what to do.
November 19th, 2015 at 5:10 PM ^
This whole organization is inept. They can’t get out of their own way. They really needed to hire a football guy to run this even as a Team President. This is gonna get botched for sure. Hiring from within the Ford circle of trust, next they will keep White and Caldwell. At least we have Harbaugh on Saturdays...
November 19th, 2015 at 5:19 PM ^
And Millen begat Mayhew, and Mayhew begat White. The ineptitude is generational.
November 19th, 2015 at 11:52 PM ^
Hey Guy, that's my pic...
/s
November 19th, 2015 at 5:11 PM ^
Martha you're no different than your husband...your little speech was bullshit.
You continue the fine tradition of using Ford lackeys in the company instead of going out and finding new DNA to inject in the organization.
The last president you fired was an okay finance person but that's not enough! No football team in the KNOWN UNIVERSE would hire the CEO of FORD ESTATES your personal wealth management "company" to be a football team president.
You spent, what, about minute and a half to make this decision?
What's next...Mark Fields your son in law/nephew wtfever to be the General Manager?
SAME OLD LIONS...inbred, nepotism and stale thinking doomed us for 50 years and will doom us until we have new owners.
November 19th, 2015 at 5:23 PM ^
To be fair, Jon Kraft probably didn't have much pro football experience when he took the job there, either.
November 19th, 2015 at 5:40 PM ^
November 19th, 2015 at 9:26 PM ^
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^!!!!!!!
November 19th, 2015 at 5:18 PM ^
November 19th, 2015 at 5:19 PM ^
Just burn Ford Field down already and move the team to LA.