April 8, 2026 8:38 PM PDT
The need fixing. Ownership made that very clear with the November dismi sal of coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn, who teamed up for three straight non-winning seasons and failed to correct a decades-long trend of non-playoff contention. The Lions are an odd team -- never quite disastrous enough to demand a full reboot, yet never quite good enough to sustain succe s. But as they prepare for another overhaul in 2021, it seems rather obvious: The full reboot is finally in order.Patricia's tenure was an abject failure, with the ex-New England a sistant overseeing a 13-29-1 stretch, but the reality is the Lions have been struggling to achieve even middling results since the 1990s. Jim Schwartz and Jim Caldwell combined Dustin Harris Jersey for three playoff appearances between 2011-2016, but this team still has yet to win a postseason game since 1991. In the 28 full seasons since, they have mi sed the playoffs 20 times. (This year would make 21 mi ses in 29 tries.)In short, the Lions cannot afford to take half-measures. Neither the nor the look like surefire long-term contenders right now, and it's anyone's gue s as to how long will actually be running the . But that doesn't mean Detroit should fool itself into "quick fixes" to capitalize on the NFC North.Here, then, are four proposals to fix the Lions ahead of 2021:1. Hire an up-and-coming GMThis is the first order of busine s, even if it's not the sexiest. The Lions would be just as well off with an experienced GM, but there are around the league. A couple of logical fits: executives Trent Kirchner and , and Vikings a sistant GM George Paton. Kirchner has gotten GM buzz before for his role in a sembling the crew around in Seattle, Highsmith helped orchestrate the ' 2018-2019 overhaul before joining the Seahawks, and Paton is a long-established counterpart to Vikings GM Rick Spielman, who's helped reshape Minnesota at multiple turns.2. Hire an offensive head coachBrian Daboll USATSI and his defensive smarts back in town, but forgive us if we're not leaping at the chance to prioritize a "defensive specialist" again. That's no slight on Saleh, who should get real offers. But we're going into 2021. Defense matters, but offense matters more. And if the Lions want to contend, they need to start by rebuilding the unit that scores points from the ground up. After Patricia's run, the Lions "D" honestly can't be much worse moving forward. Instead, Detroit should target a smart offensive mind -- like Arthur Smith (), Brian Daboll () or Joe Brady () -- to captain its reset.3. Trade This is not about Stafford as much it's about rebooting the entire operation. The former No. 1 overall pick remains a good quarterback, and it wouldn't be crazy to keep him through 2021 even with a new coach. But the logic here is twofold: After 12 rough-and-tumble years in Detroit, Stafford would a suredly embrace the right change of scenery. From the Lions' perspective, there might never be a better time to get something of value for him, especially amid a regime change. The Lions would save $14 million in 2021 (and another $20M in 2022) by dealing him, and they could probably get at least a first-rounder from a team on the brink (Denver? San Francisco? New England?).4. Build around a new QB and offensive coreZach Wilson Getty Images This is the surest path to putting yourself in a position to rival Rodgers and the Packers within a year or two, not to mention break the mold of perennial third-place finishes. In the end, remember, so much comes down to the coach and the QB. If the Lions can take care of the first part, rightfully prioritizing offense in today's NFL, the next step would be to take that capital from Stafford's (likely mutual) departure and get in position to draft one of 2021's top QBs (Trey Lance? Zach Wilson?), whether it be with Detroit's original first pick (likely just inside the top 10) or a trade up toward the top five. The team already has an underrated offensive line, some promising long-term weapons in and T.J. Hockenson, and a plethora of free agent wideouts to choose from. The mi sing link is the new signal-caller. Corey Seager Jersey
The need fixing. Ownership made that very clear with the November dismi sal of coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn, who teamed up for three straight non-winning seasons and failed to correct a decades-long trend of non-playoff contention. The Lions are an odd team -- never quite disastrous enough to demand a full reboot, yet never quite good enough to sustain succe s. But as they prepare for another overhaul in 2021, it seems rather obvious: The full reboot is finally in order.Patricia's tenure was an abject failure, with the ex-New England a sistant overseeing a 13-29-1 stretch, but the reality is the Lions have been struggling to achieve even middling results since the 1990s. Jim Schwartz and Jim Caldwell combined Dustin Harris Jersey for three playoff appearances between 2011-2016, but this team still has yet to win a postseason game since 1991. In the 28 full seasons since, they have mi sed the playoffs 20 times. (This year would make 21 mi ses in 29 tries.)In short, the Lions cannot afford to take half-measures. Neither the nor the look like surefire long-term contenders right now, and it's anyone's gue s as to how long will actually be running the . But that doesn't mean Detroit should fool itself into "quick fixes" to capitalize on the NFC North.Here, then, are four proposals to fix the Lions ahead of 2021:1. Hire an up-and-coming GMThis is the first order of busine s, even if it's not the sexiest. The Lions would be just as well off with an experienced GM, but there are around the league. A couple of logical fits: executives Trent Kirchner and , and Vikings a sistant GM George Paton. Kirchner has gotten GM buzz before for his role in a sembling the crew around in Seattle, Highsmith helped orchestrate the ' 2018-2019 overhaul before joining the Seahawks, and Paton is a long-established counterpart to Vikings GM Rick Spielman, who's helped reshape Minnesota at multiple turns.2. Hire an offensive head coachBrian Daboll USATSI and his defensive smarts back in town, but forgive us if we're not leaping at the chance to prioritize a "defensive specialist" again. That's no slight on Saleh, who should get real offers. But we're going into 2021. Defense matters, but offense matters more. And if the Lions want to contend, they need to start by rebuilding the unit that scores points from the ground up. After Patricia's run, the Lions "D" honestly can't be much worse moving forward. Instead, Detroit should target a smart offensive mind -- like Arthur Smith (), Brian Daboll () or Joe Brady () -- to captain its reset.3. Trade This is not about Stafford as much it's about rebooting the entire operation. The former No. 1 overall pick remains a good quarterback, and it wouldn't be crazy to keep him through 2021 even with a new coach. But the logic here is twofold: After 12 rough-and-tumble years in Detroit, Stafford would a suredly embrace the right change of scenery. From the Lions' perspective, there might never be a better time to get something of value for him, especially amid a regime change. The Lions would save $14 million in 2021 (and another $20M in 2022) by dealing him, and they could probably get at least a first-rounder from a team on the brink (Denver? San Francisco? New England?).4. Build around a new QB and offensive coreZach Wilson Getty Images This is the surest path to putting yourself in a position to rival Rodgers and the Packers within a year or two, not to mention break the mold of perennial third-place finishes. In the end, remember, so much comes down to the coach and the QB. If the Lions can take care of the first part, rightfully prioritizing offense in today's NFL, the next step would be to take that capital from Stafford's (likely mutual) departure and get in position to draft one of 2021's top QBs (Trey Lance? Zach Wilson?), whether it be with Detroit's original first pick (likely just inside the top 10) or a trade up toward the top five. The team already has an underrated offensive line, some promising long-term weapons in and T.J. Hockenson, and a plethora of free agent wideouts to choose from. The mi sing link is the new signal-caller. Corey Seager Jersey