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| Wood previously worked for Comerica Bank |
Longtime investment banker Rod Wood "will take over" as Lions President and will "oversee the business decisions for the franchise after transitioning from his job" as Ford Estates President & CEO, according to a front-page piece by Josh Katzenstein of the DETROIT NEWS. Wood "will report directly" to Owner & Chair Martha Ford. It is "unclear if Wood, who ran the family’s estate the past eight years, will have any role in personnel decisions or managing the salary cap." This will be his "first job in the NFL." The team "plans to introduce Wood in a news conference Friday afternoon." A team spokesperson said that Wood "was not available Thursday." Wood "graduated from Goodrich (Michigan) High and earned a bachelor's of business administration" from the Univ. of Michigan. He then "received a graduate degree from the American Bankers Association’s Graduate School of Commercial Banking." Prior to his position at Ford Estates, Wood "worked for Wilmington Trust Company in Wilmington, Delaware, directing the company’s wealth management business." Before that job, he "worked as an executive for Comerica Bank." Lions interim COO Allison Maki "will retain her title as Wood makes his transition" (
DETROIT NEWS, 11/20).
STAYING IN-HOUSE: In Detroit, Dave Birkett notes the Lions "promised a national search for their new team president, and two weeks later, they hired a confidant of the Ford family." Wood in recent months "has been a regular visitor" to the team's HQ (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 11/20). Also in Detroit, John Niyo writes the decision to hire Wood "certainly didn't come as a shock to many inside the organization." Wood is a "family adviser with close ties to Ford’s second-oldest daughter, Sheila Ford Hamp, and her husband, Steve Hamp, both of whom have taken a more active and influential role as Martha Ford assumed control of the organization. The Fords "replaced one trusted family friend with another and called it 'an ideal choice.'" Wood "knows plenty about money, with a background in banking and wealth management." But he will be asked "what he knows about football" and whether he will be "managing the salary cap or weighing in on personnel matters." Niyo: "Hopefully, he doesn’t, unlike [recently fired President Tom Lewand]. Because that’s going to be among the first things any potential GM candidate will ask, as well. And the wrong answer will eliminate the best of them" (DETROIT NEWS, 11/20).
THE SEARCH IS ON: The Lions on Thursday also announced also that they have "established an advisory board to lead the search" for a new GM, while "continuing to utilize resources from the NFL’s career development advisory panel." USA TODAY's Tom Pelissero notes that panel of former NFL execs and coaches "has met twice this fall and will meet two more times, after Weeks 12 and 16, before compiling its list of recommended GM candidates." But a top group "has begun to emerge as discussions continue." Among the names "are believed to be" Chiefs Dir of Football Operations Chris Ballard, Ravens Assistant GM Eric DeCosta, Vikings Assistant GM George Paton, Jaguars Dir of Player Personnel Chris Polian, and Packers Dir of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf (USA TODAY, 11/20). The DETROIT NEWS' Katzenstein notes the Lions "will not be using the executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles," as had been previously reported. The advisory board "will include Ford, Wood and Ford’s four children." Whether the new GM reports to Wood or Ford "could be a factor in the hiring process" (DETROIT NEWS, 11/20).
WOOD YOU LOOK AT THAT...: In Michigan, Kyle Meinke wrote Wood's lack of football credentials "will concern some," but Lions coach Jim Caldwell "brushed off" those concerns. Caldwell: "He's a smart man. He's certainly handled a lot of very, very difficult tasks in the line of work he's been in. And he's been around football enough" (MLIVE.com, 11/19). In Detroit, Drew Sharp writes the Lions "never learn from prior mistakes." Sharp: "Rod who? Exactly." Martha Ford "followed family form" by remaining "hesitant in trusting outside counsel for the Lions" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 11/20). The FREE PRESS' Birkett notes Wood "built a career in banking" before earning the Ford family's trust (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 11/20). In Detroit, Carlos Monarrez writes under the header, "Ford's Choice Of Rod Wood Erodes Trust." Monarrez: "How can you trust this team?" What was supposed to be an "exhaustive search" on a national scale turned up Wood - "sitting there the whole time in the Ford family’s back pocket." Monarrez: "In the entirety of the NFL -- past and present -- the best the Fords could do was hire a guy no one has heard of without NFL experience? We know as much about Wood as he knows about the NFL: nothing" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 11/20).
