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.
When searching for a change, they decided that leadership and culture were the top traits they needed instilled in the next regime.
On Jan. 14, Hamp and 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. Last year, they missed the playoffs but finished 9-8. This year, there is a lot of excitement around the team and expectations of something really great.
Now entering her third season as the primary owner, Hamp said the right people are in place because of all the support she’s gotten.
“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.
With the infrastructure in place, the Lions last year were knocking on the door of the playoffs but played spoiler to Green Bay instead. Hamp said the success of last year is leading to an incredible opportunity for the Lions.
“It’s fantastic, it really is. It’s so exciting. The fact that we’re playing in Kansas City – the very first game of the whole NFL season – obviously the league thinks of us differently. The amount of national games they put on our schedule is exciting. We didn’t have any last year. it’s really wonderful and I think we’re up for the challenge,” Hamp said.
And what would a win in February mean to the team and Hamp?
“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 it would be the most wonderful thing for the city, the fans, my family, altogether, holding that trophy up – it would be fantastic.”
