Detroit Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp is getting to know the inner workings of her club.
Chris Spielman, who joined the Lions in January as a special assistant, told 97.1 The Ticket on Tuesday morning that Hamp is involved in the team's personnel meetings.
"People ask me all the time, 'How much is Sheila involved?'" Spielman said, via Pride of Detroit. "Well, Sheila has been involved by being in personnel meetings. She sat in two days of offensive free agency meetings and defensive free agency meetings."
Team owners take different approaches in managing their clubs. Jerry Jones famously is the general manager in Dallas. In Jacksonville, Shad Khan noted this year that he had roster control. Others don't take part in the day-to-day operations.
Hamp took over the Lions from her mother, Martha Firestone Ford, in June of 2020, which makes this her first full offseason in charge of the team. After sweeping out the previous team brass, Hamp is in clear control in Detroit.
It could be that the new owner wants to get a sense of how her employees operate. Spielman sharing the note that Hamp is in team meetings was meant to convey the owner's interest in getting to know every aspect of the team-building process. Others could view Hamp being in the meetings as a "too many cooks" situation. It's an owner's prerogative how much input they'll have on the club.
"I had a great office when I got here, and all of a sudden, I'm on the corner next to the exit door," Spielman shared. "And I said, 'What happened?' Well, Sheila wants this office, because it's right in the middle of everything, which is awesome, and it just goes to show her commitment to what she wants and how involved she is. Being in these meetings, giving her opinion, which is fun, and it's cool to see the commitment that she has and that Rod (Wood) and (Mike) Disner and everybody has. But everybody understands that -- as far as the personnel (goes) -- Brad (Holmes) and Dan (Campbell), it's on them. They've got to sign their names to that."
The Lions haven't been a consistent winner under previous Ford ownerships. We won't jump to any conclusions with the news that Hamp is taking a greater interest in how her team operates at this stage of the game.
