DETROIT (FOX 2) - Sheila Hamp took over full control of the Detroit Lions on June 23, 2020. The quiet owner of the NFL franchise that has had historically long playoff droughts let most of the pandemic season play out before she made drastic changes – much to the delight of Lions' fans.
The 2020 season started with no fans at Ford Field – which is probably for the best for that version of the Detroit Lions – they were 4-6 heading into the traditional Thanksgiving game – which was another loss to the Houston Texans. Hamp had seen enough.
The Lions fired head coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn and let the rest of the NFL finish the season. On January 14, 2021, they made their move. Hamp and Team President Rod Wood announced the hiring of Brad Holmes, who had been an executive with the Los Angeles Rams. A week later, they had their new head coach in Dan Campbell.
In 2021, the Lions went 3-13-1 and had the number 2 overall pick, which they used on Aidan Hutchinson. In 2022, the Lions missed the playoffs by just one game, but this year is the one that Hamp, Wood, Holmes, and Campbell have been building towards. They're deep into the playoffs and stand just one game away from the Super Bowl.
Hamp doesn't do a lot of interviews so when she gave FOX 2's Dan Miller – the voice of the Lions – a few minutes of her time in the summer, it was a big deal.
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Hamp said in that interview that she knew she had to hang on to Wood. Then she hired Chris Spielman – and knew that the steam needed a culture shift. This was the beginning of Hamp building a team of people around her who would be crucial to the Lions' success.
In searching for advice on what to do first, she called a good friend from college who offered some help: The first thing to do is to define your noble cause. Once you do that, she recalls him saying, you get a few people to buy in with you and then everything will fall into place.
"My noble cause, after a lot of thought, was the city of Detroit, the fans, the state, everybody that's supported the Lions for so many years," she said.
An even bigger deal is the chance to bring a Lombardi Trophy to Detroit.
"I've thought about it, yes I've had. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't," she said. "I've really thought about it would be the most wonderful thing for the city, the fans, my family, all together, holding that trophy up - it would be fantastic."
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Sheila Hamp: Winning Superbowl would be 'fantastic' for city, family
It's been a little more than three years since Sheila Hamp took over ownership of the Detroit Lions from her mom. A lot has changed since then, as well as expectations for the team she now oversees. The growth has meant a lot for Hamp and for the team. It's also meant a lot for fans. But nothing would compare to winning the last game of the season.
So what were they looking for?
"The first thing was leadership. The second thing was culture. I think when we hired Brad and Dan, we got the people we were looking for," Hamp said.
The Lions' have been owned by a member of the Ford family since 1963, meaning Sheila has been around the Lions' losing history for her entire life. She knew they couldn't hide from their past.
"I had the privelege and honor of working with my mother for six years while she was the principal owner and I learned a lot with her. She sort of had to pioneer her way through a lot of things. I saw many, many wonderful things she did and I saw many things that I would have thought about differently had I had this perspective that I had now. Yes, I look back to look forward."
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Hamp knows and hears the criticism about the history of Lions ownership over the past six decades.
"I am a competitive person. I really hate to lose," Hamp said. "I'm very excited and thrilled to be able to do things my way but it's been a building block from the past."
Now, three years in, Hamp said she's got the right people in place.
"I think I've grown a lot, in this process. I think that, the fact that the right people are here and I can see it all happening before my eyes. I'm happy that I've been able to pick the right people. I wasn't sure - I've never been in this sort of leadership position before. I didn't know if that was going to be the case or not - it's like anything new you try - you don't really know. I'm so pleased and certainly could never do this alone, I have a lot of support," Hamp told FOX 2's Dan Miller.
Next stop – San Francisco.