[ad_1]
When Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell first took control of the franchise two months ago, they both really put a franchise-building approach in place. which would involve cooperation, collaboration and shared vision. They followed that up by stacking the front office with new positions: Ray Agnew as Deputy Managing Director, John Dorsey as Senior Staff Officer, and Chris Spielman as Wave Assistant to Sheila Ford Hamp and Rod Wood. .
“You have to have good people around you who are all pulling in the same direction,” Campbell said during his introductory press conference. “It’s a team. It’s all about the team. There is no ego.
It all sounds good. Gather a group of people who share a vision of paddleboarding in the same direction. Life, however, rarely runs so smoothly. The personalities clash. Opinions diverge. Football is a competitive business and with competition brings emotions.
But if free will is any early indication, Lions may actually live up to that plan. The Lions might not have made a huge splash on a tight budget, but they used every resource in their own building to find guys they knew and were comfortable with. By appealing to everyone from coaches to staff executives, the Lions have had a bunch of new but familiar faces in Detroit. The people at the top trusted the ratings of those below them.
Obviously, it starts with GM assistants Ray Agnew and Holmes orchestrating the franchise reset trade from Matthew Stafford to the Rams and a subsequent trade that brought in veteran defensive tackle Michael Brockers.
“Brad and Ray’s insight was tremendous,” Campbell said. “They kind of started this process, and they were part of it.”
But the Lions spent all the resources they had. Dorsey, who has had three decades of professional scouting, was credited by Campbell for spotting wide receiver Damion Ratley, a player Dorsey drafted for the Browns three years ago. Breshad Perriman was supported by wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El, who worked with him in Tampa. Agnew also pointed the Lions towards Tyrell Williams, despite no previous relationship with the quick wide receiver.
“He was kind of like, ‘Look man, you gotta check this guy out. He just got hurt, but this guy has juice. I think we can have it, ”Campbell recalls of their conversation.
Holmes and Campbell went out of their way to credit director of player personnel Lance Newmark with some of their free agency scores, especially backup quarterback Tim Boyle.
“Great credit goes to Lance Newmark, our director of player personnel,” said Holmes. “He’s a guy that Tim identified early in the process.”
This harmony and front office collaboration has always been part of the plan, and free agency was the first visible product of that plan.
“It’s a team effort. It’s us who are all working together, because that was kind of a vision, ”said Campbell. “Where do we find these guys who are maybe a little off the radar, if you will, but we know they have juice and they can play, and they can help us.
Of course, whether these guys can actually help the Lions will be decided in the fall. For now, the Lions are simply sticking to the master plan.
“It has been a collective effort,” said Holmes. “It’s been a collaborative approach, but we’ll just continue to stick to the plan and hope we can deliver the product One Pride deserves.”
[ad_2]
Source link