Watch CBS News

Lewand Says Martha Ford Full Participant In Owners Meetings, Very Clear About Her Expectations For The Team

By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak

PHOENIX - Detroit Lions owner Martha Ford did not speak with media during the NFL owners meetings at the Arizona Biltmore this week, so team president Tom Lewand provided some insight into her participation in the league meetings and, on a broader scale, her involvement in the running of the Lions.

Martha owned the team with her husband William Clay Ford Sr. until his death last year, and Lewand conveyed to Detroit reporters in a sit-down interview Tuesday that the team means just as much Martha as it did to her husband.

"The first time we sat down, and this is when Mr. Ford was still with us ... at the time we were making the decision on whether or not we should change coaches," Lewand said. "She was very clear in that meeting about what her expectations were for this franchise, and there was no ambiguity about the excellence starting with winning the NFC North and then moving on to considerable playoff success, including a Super Bowl, so it is very clear that the main measuring stick is success on the field more than it is any business metric."

Lewand described Martha Ford as fully involved in the proceedings over the last couple of days, as owners, general managers and coaches convened to discuss potential rule changes and other league business.

"She's been great," Lewand said. "She was obviously here the last few days, full participant in the meetings. She's in there from the time they start until the time they end during the course of the day. She's in that room and involved in every topic, even those that - it's a very diverse agenda, and topics move from instant replay and the competition committee and football discussions to digital media to personal conduct and social responsibility, so there's a real broad agenda, but she's engaged on every topic. We met before we came down here to go through some of the agenda items and talk through them in greater detail, and she's got strong opinions on certain things.

"She's got strong opinions, and she's extremely sharp, very perceptive, and she has a lot of interaction with her peers, with other owners, some with whom she's had relationships over the years, others with whom she's just developing relationships," Lewand continued, "and I think it's a positive experience for her, and I know it's a positive experience for the organization to have our principal owner here, as it is when we have any representative of the Ford family, when Bill's been here in the past. We're better when the family is here at the meetings and involved. It helps everybody."

Lewand said the ownership of the team has been consistent in its expectations of winning. The Lions headed in the right direction during the 2014 season, winning 11 games and making the playoffs under new head coach Jim Caldwell. The Fords talk with the team's front office about the team on a regular basis, Lewand said.

"She's very involved, as is the rest of the family," Lewand said. "There are no bigger proponents and fans of the Lions. This is a family that grew up around the Lions. Literally the children and grandchildren have grown up with the Lions being the central part of their immediate family as well as their broader family, meaning not only the Ford family but Detroit.

"So this is a passion for them in addition to being just a football team or just a business," Lewand added. "They're very involved. We have regular communication, and they, Mrs. Ford has been very clear about the desire to be supportive but also to set expectations and accountability on what that performance should look like on and off the field."

As far as why Ford has yet to speak publicly about the team, Lewand paused before hinting that she might break her silence at some point in the future.

"I would say stay tuned," Lewand said. "I would say stay tuned."

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.