December 15, 2020 Lions President & CEO Rod Wood Opening Statement: “Our organization, the team and our search process and even beyond that. Thrilled to announce that Chris Spielman is joining the organization as a special assistant to both (Principal Owner and Chairman) Sheila (Ford Hamp) and I. Initially, he’ll be incredibly involved in our GM and coaching search, and then beyond that, I think heavily involved in all aspects of the company. “Obviously, Chris is a Lion through and through. I’ve known him, really, since I started in this position. He’s a legend and very involved in the legend community, and then obviously as a broadcaster and covering a number of our games, both in practice and on the sideline pre-game. I’ve had Chris on my mind for a long time about a role with the team, and the timing seemed right, given the change that we’re going through right now. Chris and I started talking a couple of weeks ago about this. (I) connected him with Sheila. We’ve had a few conference calls amongst the three of us, and ultimately settled on this role that we’re thrilled that he’s joining us today in. I think one of the things that Chris can do for us in addition to adding a football voice and a lot of passion – hopefully you’ll hear that in a second when Chris starts talking about the team and the organization – is helping us build a Detroit Lions culture throughout the entire organization. We have this tagline, ‘One Pride,’ which I think is perfect and that we really want everybody in the organization to be pulling in the same direction, feel part of the organization and build this great culture that hopefully can lead to success on the field, off the field and in the community. “As we go through the conference today, we really don’t want to talk about any candidates for any position, GM or head coach, either that have been interviewed or might be interviewed coming up. I know there’s a lot of speculation out there and rumors – we’re not going to get into that today. I’m also, in addition to Chris, thrilled to have access to the others that we announced in the press release; Barry Sanders, Mark Hollis and Rod Graves from the Fritz Pollard Alliance. I’ve talked to several of them already, and they’ve been instrumental in giving good insight and information as we embark upon our searches. They will be out there as advisors to us, Chris will be actively involved. He will sit in on every interview. For those who have already been interviewed – our three internal candidates – I’ve shared with Chris their information that they shared with us during the interview, and Chris will double-back to them at some point and get to know each of them as well. So, they’ll be included in the process the same as any external candidate. “And with that, I’d like to turn it over to somebody that I think you guys all know, Chris Spielman, to say a few things and well take some questions. Chris, welcome to the Detroit Lions again.” Special Assistant to Chairman and President & CEO Chris Spielman Opening Statement: “I mean it’s an incredible, incredible opportunity. I want to thank everybody for taking interest in this press conference and the announcement. I was just thinking about this, that you never know where life takes you. Sometimes life is about timing, and this is the time in my life where this is the perfect opportunity, and I had a chance to talk to Rod (Wood) and to (Principal Owner and Chairman) Sheila (Ford Hamp) and to understand and share the vision of what they picture the Lions (being) moving forward. It’s kind of along my core beliefs on everything, regarding life and football. And so, when you have that type of alignment, I think that’s something that we are committed to create. The ‘One Pride’ thing, to me, goes beyond the building. Obviously in the building, but the ‘One Pride’ thing is embracing Detroit. The City of Detroit. The fans of Detroit. That’s something that I think I still identify with, I feel a part of, and for lack of another word, it’s really, really good to be home in that regard. I have a vision that matches exactly what Rod and Sheila envisioned, and that’s the only way that could work because we’re completely in sync of the direction of the culture of the building and something to be proud of for everybody that’s a Lions fan. “I did want to address this – the timing is right. I’ve been approached over the years for different opportunities within football, and life takes you sometimes in different directions, and choices that we all make as husbands and fathers and wives and mothers and all those kinds of good things, and so I really do think that this is the absolute right time to get involved. I’m really excited. I can’t tell you how excited I am about the opportunity. The Lions are part of my identity; they always have been, they always will be. When I say, ‘One Pride,’ that’s not just a noun for me, I always take that as a word of action. That’s going to be my goal moving forward. OK, so fire away boys and ladies.” On if he can take us through the timeline of the hire and why this was the right time for the move: (Wood) “I had been thinking about Chris (Spielman) for a long time, not knowing when the timing would be right and what role would be perfect. And then once we made the decision to move on from Bob (Quinn) and Matt (Patricia), it just seemed like the right time to reach out to Chris to see if he would have any interest in initially helping us out, and then beyond that, anything that would be more of an official role. I think one thing led to another and I think Chris and I started talking very soon after the decisions. He and I talked several times, then he and I and (Principal Owner and Chairman) Sheila (Ford Hamp) talked, and then he and I had some more conversations, then I kind of came back to him with this idea. He thought about it – I’ll let him speak to how he processed it – and then we had a follow up call with Sheila, and really kind of decided to do this, probably, just within the last couple of days. I’ll let Chris talk about it because he had some issues he wanted to decide about (with) his broadcasting career and FOX and everything else. But it came together rather quickly, but it was over a series of conversations.” On how being around this team in the past has prepared him for this role: (Spielman)“I looked at it like this; my whole life has been about football. And I’ve been a part of football on all levels from the time I was born with my dad being a high school football coach. I know that there was some Twitter talk out there about being a GM or any other position, and you think about that, and it’s not fair to Rod (Wood) or (Principal Owner and Chairman) Sheila (Ford Hamp) and what they’re trying to build because I’m not qualified to be a general manager. I do know what works and what doesn’t work by being 30 years in this business and traveling around to 32 teams year-in and year-out and having a brother in the business and watching and learning in conversations with him about what works for him (and) what doesn’t work to be able to kind of build what our goal is, that ‘One Pride’ thing. That one culture. A culture of – if you put on a Lions shirt, it actually means something. It’s not just a shirt to sleep in or to work out (in). It means something when you put that Lions shirt on, whether you’re a fan, whether you work in the building in any capacity – you are one, and you are part of us. And so drawing on my experience on all different levels and talking to leaders every single week and general managers and coaches, hear what works for them, hear what doesn’t work for them, books of journals of these notes that I’ve taken, I know exactly what Sheila and Rod want, and hopefully I can help them, and us, get there to where we need to be. The position that Rod showed to leadership to create is exactly what I envisioned, and I think it’s the best way that the Lions can utilize whatever talent I bring to the table.” On what kind of culture he thinks Detroit fans can rally behind: (Spielman) “Well, I think one that embraces who we are and what we believe in. Make no mistake, everybody understands the rules of playing in the NFL. It’s all about winning games and losing games. I think the fans should look for somebody that (knows) that’s what the rules are, and we have to be able to find that and identify that and to give us the best chance to win the games. But I want the fans to feel proud to be Lions, all of them. The coach that – ultimately when that decision is made – it’s going to be what we think is the best way, or what Rod (Wood) and (Principal Owner and Chairman) Sheila (Ford Hamp) and my input, what we think is the best way forward. I have a lot of confidence in that.” On how important it was to hire somebody with a vested interest in the organization: (Wood) “It’s a great question. Obviously, I said Chris (Spielman) had been on my mind for a long time, and that’s probably one of the big reasons in addition to all the skills that he brings independent of his connection to the Lions. I said we want to create a Detroit Lions culture, and I think having somebody who’s been here, understands the community, the fans, the blue-collar mentality of this town and how much our fans want us to win and how much Chris wants to win and how much Sheila wants to win and I want to win. Having somebody that’s kind of been here, that was a home run. I’m so glad that Chris was open to taking my call, and I’m so glad we kind of figured out a role that works. It was a big part of it, for sure.” On how his perception of leadership has changed over time: (Spielman) “Well I think leadership, as far as I’m concerned, has never changed. I think a leader understands his role and his responsibility. And to me, a good leader – and this comes from a lot of guys in the military – they’re pretty good at everything, but they’re not afraid to hire people that are great around them, great at one particular skill, whatever that is. They’re just guys that don’t ever feel threatened. And the other thing that good leaders do, in my opinion, you hire the people to do the job, and then you go let them do their job, with of course accountability to those who they are accountable for. But leadership can’t waver. Whatever your belief, whatever your core system is, whatever your values are, whatever your identity is, whatever your culture is, it’s got to be the same, and it’s got to stay the same because once you start wavering from your core beliefs and you try to change overnight, then I don’t think that’s the best thing in my opinion. I hope that answers your question.” On his thoughts on previous Detroit general manager and head coach decisions: (Spielman) “Well I’m not looking back because I don’t think that’s productive. I think we can learn from certain things and what worked and what didn’t work, not only from the Lions organization, but from all organizations. That’s the benefit that I had in being around and covering these teams for five years, and also on every concept of an NFL organization – how a draft works, I’m anxious to learn about salary cap, how scouting works. The whole key is, in my opinion, is it really doesn’t matter what is in the past because we know the NFL is all about the next day, no matter win or lose. You keep going forward, so you want to maximize that. We talked about that for me, my goal is to find those people, those leaders, get them in place and let them do their jobs. As long as they match up with what we believe, and what Sheila (Ford Hamp) wants, what Sheila has in mind, what Rod wants and what he has in mind, and what my core beliefs are. Once we get that, that’s who we are. So I’m not looking back. I’m kind of looking forward.” On QB Matthew Stafford’s future with the team: (Spielman) “It’s tough for me to comment on specifics. I just know this: He’s a talented guy, and he’s a tough ass. I’ve always respected Matthew and how he plays the game. I’ll give you an interesting observation that I had on Sunday. He gets hurt, he goes into the locker room, he’s coming out, starting to throw the ball, and obviously has cartilage pain in his rib from what I read on your guys’ reports today and damaged cartilage, and it takes a leader to realize that, ‘Yes, I can tough it out and go play, but does that give us the best chance to win?’ So anybody who knows Matthew Stafford knows that, ‘I can tough it out, but I wouldn’t be more effective than Chase (Daniel) at this time.’ Chase gives our team a chance to win. So that’s something that I refer to as an unselfish and sacrificial giving, making – for Matthew you know, it’s hard for him to pull himself out or not go back in. So that was a difficult decision. When I looked at Matthew all these years, and talked to him in production meetings, the one thing that stands out is (that) he’s a team guy.” On his journals: (Spielman) “They’re right across the room here. Journals and notepads – if you walk in here, and I spread it out, it’s like ‘A Beautiful Mind’ Part Two because there’s so much knowledge to be gained out there. I’ve been blessed with insight and the insight to know that I can always learn. I can always grow. I can always develop. There are so many smart guys out there, and when they put information out there – whether I agree with it or disagree with it – I write it down because I want to think about it and think network, how does that work, how does it work with this guy, how does it work with that guy. So some of the people that I’ve talked to over the years, and recently, are very smart people who have had a lot of success. It doesn’t mean I agree with everything that they say, but they give me thoughts to think about and ideas to think about. To me, you only grow when you’re out of your comfort zone and you’re challenged that way and you have insights and humility to know that you don’t have all the answers. Somebody does, and you go find that person and find out what the answers are.” On the main theme he took away from those travels: (Spielman) “There has to be, to me, clear communication – every guy that I spoke to, in the top three of their things that make a great organization. These questions have been asked for the last five years, plus other private conversations that I had. There has to be communication. Everybody has to understand the direction that we’re going. Everybody has to know what our culture is, and you can’t waiver for them. Everybody has to know, ‘OK, what type of character do we want in the building?’ From everybody on down, everybody understands this is how the head coach and the general manager have to be in unison. Now they can fight and argue, which is healthy. But I’ll tell you this, there’s going to be, well if I have any say, there’s going to be unity. It’s not going to be an us versus them. You can’t build a winning culture in us versus them. There’s a great saying, you guys probably hear it, anybody that knows history, together we stand, divided you fall. In unity there is strength. It’s easy to be strong when you’re on a six-game winning streak. You have to stay strong when things are rough, and you lose a few games. You have to stay unified. Rod (Wood), I think that’s what we’re looking for, if I’m not mistaken.” On if Special Assistant to Chairman and President & CEO Chris Spielman wants to be a general manager someday: (Spielman) “No, I just love football, and again, I’m a student of life. I believe that some of my experience – how I got this way was that some of my experiences in life away from football, I learned so much that I have people call me and ask me how I dealt with certain things in life. I was able to pass that information on. My life experiences have taught me that I don’t have all the answers, but gosh darn it, I’m not going to get them unless I start asking questions. I think that I have enough respect around the League that when I ask a question, it’s for a reason. I believe that if anybody asks me my ‘why,’ I tell them my ‘why’ because if I don’t believe in my ‘why’ then I wouldn’t tell them my ‘why.’ If I don’t have a strong belief in my ‘why’ then you’ll get my ‘whys’ all day long.” On who the general manager will report to: (Wood) “As Sheila (Ford Hamp) said in here first press conference, we’re still looking at a lot of the organizational issues. I think it’ll be dependent upon how the search goes. But Chris (Spielman) won’t have any direct supervisory responsibilities whatever the structure is. He’ll be advising the two of us. But I think that was why it was so critical to get him involved early because I wouldn’t want to bring him in after we’ve hired a general manager or after we’ve hired a coach and have him wonder what his role is. That will be very clear to them while we’re interviewing the candidates. He’s part of the process of hiring them, so he’s going to be invested in their success, and he’s going to be available to them as a resource, however they choose to use him in the best possible way. But he’s really going to be an advisor to the two of us, without direct responsibilities of advising either the GM or the head coach. How the organization comes together amongst the two of them, other than what Chris said, they will be 100 percent aligned with one another, in terms of the culture and the beliefs. We’ll determine that organization as we get through the rest of the interview process.” On how much say he will have in football decisions and where he thinks Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn failed during their tenures with the Lions since he was around for a lot of games: (Spielman) “Yeah, but that wouldn’t be fair to make an assessment if I wasn’t around there every day to give a fair evaluation. Obviously, everybody knows that wins and losses are important, but I don’t know where they failed. I wasn’t there every day to make an honest assessment of that. Look, my role, trying to describe it as – there’s one goal right now, it’s to get the best coach and general manager that’s best for the Detroit Lions and to help that happen. For me, once this is all in place, think of me as a servant. What do you need? And I have a saying, and I was just telling my youngest daughter to help me with something today, and she goes, ‘Well, all right.’ And I said, ‘Listen, I’m going to tell you what I need from you to do my job and then you can tell me what you need from me to do your job.’ So, think of it as a servant role. Whatever is needed to be done and however I can help the team in any way, that’s my job, and I am there just to serve. That’s my goal and that’s what I intend to do.” On how he thinks he can find the right blend of intelligence and charisma in the football decision makers to establish success for the Lions: (Spielman) “Well, there’s no guarantees in the NFL, as we know. I’m not saying that I’m going to guarantee anything. What I am saying is my role is to help Sheila (Ford Hamp) envision and Rod (Wood), what they envision for the Detroit Lions and identify who gives us the best chance for success. I mean, I would be naïve, and I would (be) lying to you if I said, ‘We’re going to guarantee this and we’re going to guarantee that.’ I’m not interested in guarantees because there are no guarantees. What I am interested in is giving my services to give the Lions the best chance to build something of a culture of like I said, the identity of the feeling of being a Lion, to succeed. And then we have to work hand in hand to find those two guys, match them up and make the best decision possible.” On how much experience will matter in the General Manager and Head Coach searches:(Wood) “Well, certainly experience is something that we’re going to take into account. If somebody has had prior experience as either a GM or a head coach, you have maybe a better opportunity to evaluate what they may do in either job, but it’s not going to be a prerequisite necessarily. And I think we’re trying to find the best team, and if that means there are two first time individuals, that’ll be what happens. If it means one of them has experience and one of them doesn’t, that’ll be what happens. But certainly, having experience it gives you an opportunity to evaluate whether they’ve been successful in the job, versus trying to project. And as Chris (Spielman) said, there’s no guarantees. Even if you have experience, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to be successful in the next stop. It’s more important for me to find the right two people for the Detroit Lions and our culture, and the way we want to communicate and the way we want to involve people and the way we want everybody to feel that they are part of the organization. Those are some of the criteria Chris and I have discussed, and Sheila (Ford Hamp) and I have discussed in terms of what we’re going to be looking for. Experience is a factor, but not a determinant.” On the expectations for Fritz Pollard Alliance Foundation Executive Director Rod Graves, Rock Ventures Vice President of Business Development Mark Hollis and Lions Hall of Fame RB Barry Sanders: (Wood) “Each bring different things to the table, starting with Rod Graves, leader of the Fritz Pollard Alliance. I’ve had several conversations with Rod already. He’s shared with me the candidates that the Alliance works with who are minority coaches and potential GMs who are trying to get their names in front of teams. He’s been very helpful in helping me kind of analyze those candidates and giving me some feedback. So, we’ll continue to talk to him regularly. Mark Hollis, because of his responsibilities at Michigan State as an athletic director, has done a number of coaching searches and he’s been interesting in providing some guidance on process of what works, and outcomes that were successful for him. And Barry, is more in some ways, in a similar way to Chris, a Lion – someone who understands our culture, the Ford Family, hopefully we can continue to bounce ideas off of him in terms of trying to find somebody who fits for us and obviously is one of, if not the greatest player in the history of the franchise. Anytime I can have Barry around it’s a good thing. I’m glad that he agreed to do this. And so, we’ll be using them in different ways, but all three can bring something to the table.” On how difficult it is to put a culture in place and the challenge to mesh that with a head coach and general manager coming from outside of the organization: (Spielman) “So, the culture is not unique to the Detroit Lions. I think the culture, like I’ve mentioned — the successful people that have done a lot of great things within the League, kind of have the same mindset of moving forward, what it takes as far as One Pride thing, or whatever your rally call is, and the communication between everybody is vital. It’s vital. It’s how everybody grows in my opinion. And so, I think it’s not going to be that difficult – well, I would say from my understanding, the two people that we hire are going to be in line with what the Detroit Lions’ culture is and what is expected from them.” (Wood) “I would just say, Chris, let me add on that – while she’s not on the call here, the culture is going to be largely set by Sheila (Ford Hamp) and she’s got some very strong beliefs and at the right time will probably share some of those as we go through the search process. As Chris said, I think things start at the top and communication starts from Sheila all the way down and that’s part of what it will be explained as we get through the process.” (Spielman) “And that’s the thing, although it’s a great opportunity, it wasn’t an easy decision. My last conversation with Sheila had put it over the top for me and I woke up that next day because you know, ‘OK, life changes this is all in 24 hours.’ After processing that conversation with her, I can’t tell you how excited she is and how bad she wants the Lions to represent the city of Detroit, to win a lot of games and something that everybody can be proud of. Like Rod (Wood) said, she’s the one that set it. She’s the one that put me over the top when I was deciding whether to do this or not. She’s fabulous, great leader. She was a leader to me, man. I was like, “All right, let’s go.’ Felt like I had talked to a head coach before a game. She gave me a locker room speech and I was ready to run through the hotel door in Cincinnati.” On what culture looks like to him in terms of how the team plays: (Spielman) “Well, for me, culture is there is never, ever, ever quit and you play hard and you play fast. And how do you describe it? I don’t know. I see it Sundays with some teams and other teams I don’t see it. I think culture has been defined in this year of COVID and how teams have responded, I’ve done a couple interviews with some of you – I know Mike (O’Hara) and I have talked about this on 3 & Out, where my experience is that the teams that create their own energy, the teams that have fun playing no matter if there’s 100,000 people in the stadium, or there’s nobody in the stadium, their mindset doesn’t change and that’s clear what I’ve observed on Sundays. Look, this is just my philosophy, I know this and talking to very successful coaches around the League, for the team, when you have players playing for each other and not worrying about anything else and just playing for each other – and going back to that servant’s thing, right? And going back to Frank Ganz, who had a great impact on me, what you give will grow and what you keep you will lose. If you give that to your teammate on each and every play, everything that you have, that’s the type of culture you want. I do know exactly what it looks like, but I don’t know how to describe it in words, but when I see it, I know it. Does that make any sense, because I know.” On if he has been wounded over the years watching the Lions lack of success: (Spielman) “I think there’s always that, ‘OK, what’s going on with the Lions?’ if I didn’t do a Lions game, whenever I was done, OK, get on the app to see what the score was, to look at the stats. How’d they do on third down? What’s going on with here on passing yardage? How many yards did they give up on rushing? Yeah, there was always a general interest. I don’t know if wounded would be the right word that I would use, but I would say definitely interested ever since I left back in 1995.” On how he envisions Spielman’s role after the general manager and head coaching searches conclude and how that will alter Wood’s role in the organization long term: (Wood) “I don’t think it will have much of an impact on my role, other than I have a partner that is going to leverage my time and I think will be around the organization in every way possible. Obviously, Chris’s football expertise brings a lot to the organization that we could certainly benefit from and use, but I’ll let Chris speak to this – but I think he’s also looking forward to being very involved in all parts of the organization and working with some of our large corporate partners and sponsors, helping motivate everybody at Ford Field that’s working more on the business side and really having that culture between the organization, two buildings, football and business be one – and I think Chris will do a great job at that and his role will probably go directions that I can’t even predict right now because I think he’s going to be another valuable asset not only to me, but to Sheila (Ford Hamp) and to the whole organization. In ways it will grow over time, but right now the first job is to find the two people that we’re looking for and then after that I think the world is kind of wide open to us in terms of his role.” |
