As the Detroit Lions search for their new head coach and general manager, team president Rod Wood said Tuesday they are seeking candidates who are trying to create an open and inclusive culture focused on leadership and teamwork as they try to finally produce a winner with the long-struggling franchise.
"We developed very specific criteria for both positions that we're looking for that are unique. Not totally unique, but we think in some cases very unique to our situation," Wood said. "I won't share all of them with you, but I would say they focus on leadership, culture, teamwork, awareness of each other's strengths and weaknesses.
"And what we're really looking for is a culture that is open, inclusive, where everybody is pulling together as a team, and in one word, communication is paramount and everybody is doing the right thing for the Detroit Lions."
Wood said he believes the candidates they've spoken with so far have exhibited those qualities as the team looks to replace fired general manager Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia. The team has interviewed seven general manager and two head-coaching candidates, Marvin Lewis and Eric Bieniemy, and is interviewing current Lions interim head coach Darrell Bevell on Tuesday. They are conducting more interviews throughout this week and into next week.
The process is deeper than when the Lions hired Quinn in 2016 and Patricia in 2018. Both Wood and owner Sheila Ford Hamp have more experience in the league and are seeking different qualities than their last hires.
"We were more focused on candidates because of their accomplishments as opposed to criteria that had been established before we started interviewing with them," Wood said. "So, I'm very comfortable with the process and how it's working so far and the criteria that we've developed."
Wood said a better understanding of what goes into the job of a general manager has helped the process -- along with a larger interviewing group, including Hamp and new special assistant Chris Spielman, who was hired in December.
Wood understands now a general manager has more to do than selecting players and forming a roster.
"Finding people who exhibit some of the skills that are required to be a good manager of people and processes, not just picking players," Wood said. "And then ultimately, with the head coach, I think leadership and somebody that can work with the general manager and somebody that has had experience either as a head coach or you can project that experience as a coordinator into being a head coach, and really diving into those types of questions.
"Not that we didn't do that in the search for Matt, but I think trying to do it differently, hopefully we'll find the right people."
Lions players have also expressed their opinions to Wood. Cornerback Jeff Okudah said Monday he believed the team needs to have more transparency from everybody and a coach who the players believe is with them after he saw "dysfunction" this past season.
"Whenever you can get a coach, coaches that are kind of with the players," Okudah said. "Not saying that in the past they haven't been with the players but when you have a coach like that, where the players kind of feel like this guy's at war with us every single time and that we're in this together, I think that you have a team that's willing to play for each other no matter the circumstances, no matter if you're up 40 or down 40. They are going to play until the end.
"So I think just getting everyone on the same page, same goal, that would pay us great dividends going forward."