The Detroit Lions (1-7) continue to make changes.
These latest moves came after a beat-down in London at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs (3-5) who won easily by the score of 45-10. In this case, it was to their front office, as the Lions fired general manager Martin Mayhew and president Tom Lewand. Ten days earlier the Lions fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and replaced him with the quarterbacks coach, Bob Cooter. Today’s firing have been confirmed by CBS Sports NFL INSIDER Jason LA Canfora.
Sources with knowledge of the situation tell La Canfora that more changes are still expected. Head Coach Jim Caldwell has been under scrutiny for most of the season and sources say that defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is a strong candidate to replace him if the Lions decide to fire Caldwell.
As for now, the assistant general manager Brian Xanders will take over Mayhew’s duties for the time being. According to La Canfora’s sources, the Ford family has wanted to remove Lewand from his position for at least a year now. But with rumors of a power struggle within the ownership group, the family has disagreed over the direction of the front office.
It was former general manager Matt Millen who recommended Martin Mayhew to the Lions.
“You want to know how it went down?” Millen asked during an interview with MLive.com in April 2015. “This is how it went down. Mr. (Henry Clay) Ford – look, there is some stuff nobody knows about. But, anyway, when the thing came down, he didn’t know what to do. You’re going to hire Martin as your general manager. You’re going to take Tom (Lewand) and make him the president – that’s what he’s been trying to do for the last seven years. And Tom could be an asset.”
Jim Caldwell is only in his second season as head coach for the Lions. And though he helped lead the Lions to a 11-5 record and a playoff berth last season, he still shares the blame, if not most of it for the Lions 1-7 start this season. Caldwell will remain the head coach for now, but as La Canfora reports, his job could be the next shoe to drop within this organization.
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