The Detroit Lions are one of thirty-two teams in the NFL. Joining the league in 1928, the Lions have been through 96 seasons of football. Over those 96 years, they’ve accumulated 591 wins and 707 losses. Including their postseason games, it’s 600 wins and 721 losses. They have five division titles, four conference titles, and four NFL titles. In their entire history of playing, the Detroit Lions have been to the playoffs 23 times and have played in the Superbowl zero times.
Before their 2023 season, the Lions’ reputation in the league was in the dumps. The team hadn’t made the playoffs since 2016, and they hadn’t been to a divisional game since 1991. From 2017-2022, they lost more games than they won every season. They placed 4th in their division out of four teams for three years in a row. The Michigan team was having a rough time. But in 2023, the Lions went from a record of 9 and 8 to 12 and 5. They made it into the Wildcard and Divisional Playoffs and the NFC Championship, where they just barely missed their chance at participating in the Superbowl.
So what changed for the Detroit team? What made a team at the bottom of NFC North go straight to the top? One could argue it was the coach. The Detroit Lions’ current head coach, Dan Campbell, is a man with 26 years of experience in the field. Playing on four teams between the years 1999 and 2009, and coaching for three teams since 2016, Campbell is experienced in football. He was hired as the Lions’ head coach in 2021, and his first year was abysmal, earning them a record of 3 and 13. But over the next two years, he got better, skyrocketing to 9 and 8, then 12 and 5.
While some give credit to the coach, others point to the owner of the team. Sheila Ford Hamp took over the Detroit Lions in June of 2020, following the Ford family legacy by gaining ownership of the NFL team. Hamp immediately set to work trying to improve the team, hiring many new employees to help the Lions do their best. As soon as their 2021 season was over, Hamp hired Campbell as the head coach as well as Brad Holmes, who’d spent the last 18 years working for the Los Angeles Rams. He was then brought on as the general manager for the team. Under the leadership of these three, the Detroit Lions have brought pride back to their team season by season.
No matter what the cause of their newfound success is, it’s undeniable that the Lions are baring their teeth again.
