Tag: Sheila Ford Hamp

4 years after Sheila Hamp took over the Lions, no more ‘sell the team’ cries

4 years after Sheila Hamp took ownership of the Detroit Lions, no more ‘sell the team’ cries

Four years ago today, on June 23rd of 2020, Sheila Ford Hamp took over as the principal owner of the Detroit Lions. Hamp took the reins that day from her mother, Martha Firestone Ford, who had run the Lions since her late husband’s death in 2014.

In looking back on that fateful day, the initial response from fans was generally, uh, unsupportive–to be kind. The most common reaction from the One Pride fan base back in June of 2020 was the near-ubiquitous battle cry:

“Sell the team!”

The Ford family was, quite understandably, very unpopular as NFL owners at that time. Just one postseason victory in 57 years of Ford ownership of the Lions had made anyone associated with the family patently inept in the eyes of most fans.

This was the very first response to the above post, from a longtime Detroit-area sports personality:

That someone had gone through the effort and expense to create and unfurl a “sell the team” banner at a Lions home game featuring the nonagenarian owner demonstrates how lowly regarded the Ford family was in Detroit.

Flash forward to June 23, 2024 and think about this…

When was the last time you heard a Lions fan demanding Sheila Hamp sell the team for the greater good of Detroit sports? After a thorny start with an inherited coach and GM who might have been even more unpopular than the Ford family at the time, the change in public perception of Lions ownership in four short years is nothing short of miraculous.

Hamp got her first hirings right in GM Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell — both of which were not exactly universally embraced moves at the time either. She had the awareness of just how wretched of a state the team was in after deposing the failed QuinnTricia regime.

She had the gumption to bring back franchise legend Chris Spielman to help guide what everyone knew would be a rough rebuild.

She had the temerity to let these unknown rookies at their management positions trade away the face of the franchise.

She had the perseverance to not throw out the baby with the bathwater when the cleansing didn’t start so smoothly.

She authorized any resources, both on-field and off-field, that Holmes and his staff wanted for the organization.

She listened to fan complaints about Ford Field and actually did something about them.

She opened the pursestrings to reward premium, homegrown talent instead of overpaying for other teams’ expensive free agents.

She supported controversial choices by Holmes and Campbell, from draft trades to play calls.

In short, Sheila Hamp has made it possible to be proud to be a Lions fan. Not many expected that back in the early summer of 2020 when Hamp took over for her mother.

Happy ownership anniversary, Lions fans. This is one worthy of celebrating, finally!

Lions owner Sheila Hamp sets 2024 goal of ‘hoisting a trophy’

Lions owner Sheila Hamp sets 2024 goal of ‘hoisting a trophy’

As part of the Detroit Lions event at Ford Field unveiling the team’s new uniforms, Lions owner Sheila Hamp addressed the crowd of media and season ticket holders. Hamp made it clear that while she’s thrilled with the progress the team has made under head coach Dan Campbell, there is still more hill to climb.

Coming off a third season under Campbell that ended with a first-ever NFC North title and a close loss in the NFC Championship Game, the Lions are ready to challenge for a Super Bowl title. Just ask Hamp…

“As coach Campbell said at the end of last season, that was Phase 1,” Hamp said at the event. “And the 2024 season is Phase 2. And one of the goals for 2024 is that at the end of the season we will be hoisting a trophy.”

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The Lions have progressed a very long way since the now-iconic picture of Hamp holding her head in her distressed hands at the end of a(nother) humiliating loss in the Matt Patricia era. Hamp deserves credit for facilitating the turnaround.

 

Poll: Where do you rank Sheila Hamp among the 32 NFL owners after the 2023 season?

Vote in the poll on where you think Sheila Hamp ranks among NFL owners after the 2023 season

Detroit has come a long way from booing owner Sheila Hamp when she presented Calvin Johnson at his Hall of Fame ring ceremony in Ford Field. The chants of “sell the team” have given way to “Let’s go Lions” and “Jared Goff” — even away from football and at road games.

The team’s transformation would not have been possible without a dedicated, patient owner with some gumption and humility. Hamp has proven to be the right person for the task in Detroit.

But where does the Lions matriarch land in the ranking of the 32 NFL owners?

During December, The Athletic and analyst Mike Sando ranked Hamp 23rd in the annual owner ratings.

It seemed like a fair ranking for Hamp given the circumstances. As noted by analyst Mike Sando, Hamp inherited coach Matt Patricia and GM Bob Quinn from her well-meaning but hands-off mother, Martha Ford. The transformation into the franchise overhaul, as deftly executed by GM Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell, took some time before finally hitting its stride.

Now that the Lions finished off their first NFC North championship and won two playoff games in the same postseason for the first time in the Super Bowl era, 23rd seems quite low. Hamp deserves a lot of credit for sticking with a plan that would have been easy to abandon, and she’s done so by giving the team whatever resources it needs to keep building.

Where would you rank Hamp now?

Lions owner Sheila Hamp thanks the fans in an upbeat letter

Lions owner Sheila Hamp thanks the fans in an upbeat letter sent to season-ticket holders

In a letter sent to season-ticket holders, Detroit Lions owner Sheila Hamp went out of her way to thank the fans for their support in the incredible 2023 season and playoff run.

“I am so proud of this team, our coaches, our amazing fans, and everyone throughout the state of Michigan that supported us this season and during our playoff run,” Hamp wrote.

The chants have changed from “sell the team” to “Jared Goff,” even spreading into hockey arenas and grocery stores around Michigan. Hamp notes that she felt the power of the support and came across as quite grateful for the positive energy.

The full letter from Hamp, via a season ticket member:

Thank you, Mrs. Hamp. It wouldn’t be possible without you.

Dan Campbell happy to prove Lions owner Sheila Hamp was right to hire him

It wasn’t a popular move, but hiring Campbell and Holmes has been proven the right move. Campbell is proud to have proven Sheila Hamp was right.

Three years ago, the Detroit Lions were coming off a disastrous season and an even more disastrous coaching experiment. Confidence in the ownership to get the team pointed in the right direction was about as high as a turtle can jump.

When Lions principal owner Sheila Ford Hamp hired largely unknown Brad Holmes as the GM and inexperienced Dan Campbell to lead the team, the default reaction was “same old Lions.” The hashtag “sell the team” was on a predominance of social media posts.

My how perceptions have changed in three years!

As Campbell prepares his team to play for a trip to the Super Bowl after winning two home playoff games in the same season for the first time in franchise history, the Loins are suddenly the new blueprint for successful team-building. Campbell himself has a great appreciation for Hamp — she dropped the “Ford” from her name along the way —sticking to her guns and making a largely unpopular hiring.

“It means a lot. I always wanted to do that. I always wanted to prove her right,” Campbell said of Hamp during his Thursday press briefing. “That’s not an easy thing to do, to take a chance on somebody that nobody knows about or thinks deserves a shot or whatever it is. And so, to trust your instincts and trust people around you and to pull the trigger, it means a lot. It sure does.”

Hamp stayed faithful to her risky choice when the team opened 0-10-1 to start the new regime. She gave another vote of confidence when Campbell struggled to a 1-6 start in 2022.

Campbell credits Hamp for being a special owner with a different mentality.

“Once you know her, and once I know her, it doesn’t surprise me one bit. She’s one of one. She’s unique and I’ll say this — everything that we kind of are and what we’re about has started with her. It’s really her, it’s her vision.”

True to her own words, she’s not meddling with the process.

“Like I’m fortunate she allows me to be myself. I don’t feel like I have to be somebody I’m not, and you can’t always do that. You can’t – and so with that, I can coach. I can do what I need to do, and I appreciate that. So, she took a chance on me and yeah, it feels good to prove her right, but we’re not done either.”

Lions are 8-2 for first time since Ford family bought team

The last time the Lions started 8-2 was the year before William Clay Ford became the majority owner

The Detroit Lions are a proud franchise with resilient players, a great coaching staff and special fans. The team was established in 1930, and 32 years after that, the team started their season 8-2. That was 1962. They didn’t achieve that again until Week 11 of 2023, a span of 61 years.

The Lions hadn’t ever been 8-2 with the Ford family owning the team. William Clay Ford became the majority owner in 1963. His daughter Sheila Hamp, owner since 2020, is the one who oversaw this piece of team history.

The season for the Lions has been unusual in more ways than this milestone may show. They started it with a win over the defending Super Bowl champions and followed that up with a tough overtime loss to the Seahawks. Mix in some wins over the likes of the Falcons, Packers and Raiders, to name a few. They have done the majority of their work on the road as well, so with them being at 8-2 with four wins being on the road, it is significant.

The Lions now head into Thanksgiving with optimism and hope for the first time in what seems like forever. Dan Campbell and this Lions team overcame a major obstacle Sunday against the Bears. They showed they can win games when they are not at their best, but on a short week, they can’t afford for it to roll over into Thursday.

Lions fans would rather be debating whether stuffing is better in the turkey or a pan instead of “Can Jared Goff win us a Super Bowl?” Enjoy the history we are living in. This team will be remembered, and at this point, it seems to be in a good way versus the latter.

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Detroit Lions Podcast: Celebrating how far the Lions have come in a year

Detroit Lions Podcast: Celebrating how far the Lions have come in a year with a walk on the beach with Lions Wire’s Jeff Risdon

Normally we record the weekly live episode of the Detroit Lions Podcast on Wednesday nights. I couldn’t fit that in the schedule this week, so I opted to record a quick video on my own.

Some people like to touch grass to ground themselves. I touch sand. With a seasonably warm day and a little time to myself, that’s what I did. This video is shot at Holland State Park and it celebrates how far the Detroit Lions have come in a year.

At this date last year, the Lions were 1-4. They’d lost 29-0 to the Patriots before the bye week. They would lose that Sunday too, badly beaten 24-6 by the Cowboys to drop to 1-5 in a game where Jared Goff turned the ball over four times. It was a dark time, with fans and media exasperated at what was looking like another failed rebuild.

Owner Sheila Hamp didn’t panic. She doubled down on Dan Campbell, Brad Holmes and Goff. We’re all better for it now. The Lions quickly righted the ship and have gone 13-4 in the last 17 games, including a league-best 5-1 in 2023. Goff is a legit MVP candidate and Campbell a front-runner for Coach of the year honors.

Take a little walk on the beach with me and enjoy the revitalized Lions!

The Lions celebrate their 90th anniversary with a new logo and jersey patch

The jersey patch and logo will be worn in 2023 and the logo will be in Ford Field for the upcoming season as well

The 2023 season marks the 90th year in the franchise history of the Detroit Lions. To celebrate the milestone, the Lions will hold several commemorative events. The team also revealed a new logo and patch honoring the 90th year of Lions football.

“It is truly amazing that we are celebrating 90 seasons of Lions football,” owner Sheila Hamp said in a press release. “My family is proud to have been associated with the organization for 60 of those years and cherish the relationship the team has with the NFL, the city of Detroit, and our amazing Lions fans around the world. We are thrilled to celebrate this milestone with our fans throughout the upcoming season.”

The commemorative logo will be on display in Ford Field throughout the upcoming season.

A ‘frustrated’ Lions owner Sheila Hamp defends Detroit’s rebuilding process

Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp expressed her frustration with the on-field results but defended Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell

In a surprising move, Detroit Lions owner Sheila Hamp convened reporters at the team’s headquarters in Allen Park for a short press briefing on Wednesday. Hamp wanted to let her frustration with the team’s disappointing 1-5 record and varying struggles at nearly every facet of football through the first seven weeks.

With fan sentiment at a new low following the 24-6 loss in Dallas coming out of the bye, and with media confidence in head coach Dan Campbell and GM Brad Holmes also becoming significantly lower in recent weeks, Hamp elected to address those issues straightforwardly.

Hamp’s opening statement effectively answered a lot of questions with her very clear words and tone.

“I just wanted to follow through with what I said initially, that I would be open and honest and available for (local media). So here I am. I’m sure you have a few questions for me. But I just wanted to open with a couple of comments,” Hamp stated.

“I know this is difficult. Our rebuild is hard, but we really believe in our process. We really believe we’re going to turn this thing around the right way, through the draft. It requires patience.

It’s frustrating. Am I frustrated? Absolutely. Are the fans frustrated? Absolutely. Are you guys frustrated? I think we really are making progress. We’ve seen it.”

Her words reinforce what Campbell has said in both of his press conferences this week. The team does see progress. It was certainly obvious on defense in Dallas, where the Lions D played well enough to win. But the offense crashed and burned for the second week in a row, and getting both units to play well at the same time is something that Campbell’s Lions have struggled to pull off in 23 games. Detroit is 4-18-1 since Campbell took over the dilapidated team left over from the prior regime.

Hamp acknowledged the considerable issues Campbell and Holmes inherited with an old, talent-deficient roster that dealt away franchise QB Matthew Stafford after never successfully building around him.

“This was a huge teardown and then turnaround. We’re only one-third of the way through the season, we’ve got 11 more games to go so I don’t want everyone to push the panic button and give up the ship because I think we’ve got the right people in place to pull this off. I truly believe that and I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t believe it.”

Later in the session, Hamp was asked about her confidence level in the team’s leadership, namely Holmes and Campbell. She left little room to misinterpret her obvious belief in them.

“This, I would say, was like a teardown, then a rebuild. We really had to take it down to the ground level. And it’s been not only the football side, but across the organization,” Hamp added. “We’ve put in a lot of new talent at the top. I really believe in the top leadership in this organization and I think we’ve got the people to do it, to carry this out. I think that’s what’s different.”

The first part of that statement is key. It essentially acknowledges that 2021 will not be held against the current regime, which goes in line with the six-year contract given to both Holmes and Campbell, a year longer than just about every standard deal given to coaches and GMs.

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Sheila Ford Hamp: ‘I would never meddle’ with Brad Holmes or Dan Campbell

The Lions owner opened up about the long-term vision and her happiness with Holmes and Campbell

Detroit Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp gave a rare interview this week. In her conversation with Lions in-house reporter Dannie Rogers, Hamp made it clear she’s pleased with the direction of the team and the hires of GM Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell.

One of the things Hamp stressed was adhesion to the long-term plan and vision shared by the front office and the coaching staff. That includes resisting temptation to chase after big-name free agents at this stage of the franchise overhaul.

“Sticking to the plan is often hard,” the owner said. “You have the temptation to go, ‘Oh, let’s go out and get this player’ or ‘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 also made it clear she will not interfere or intervene in the decision-making process. Hamp is engaged and actively assisting, but not interested in doing the job for Holmes or Campbell.

“I see my role evolving and changing in that I think we’ve got a great coach,” Hamp stated. “I think we’ve got a terrific general manager. I want to know and be involved with them and their thinking and seeing how they work, and then you let them do their work. But I have every confidence in them, and I would never meddle. You’ve set a vision.”

It’s a good interview to get a deeper feel for Hamp and her style as the Lions’ owner.