Author Bill Morris joins us to discuss The Lions Finally Roar, his chronicle of the Detroit Lions's organizational dysfunction and dramatic turnaround.
- (02:40) The time David kind of met William Clay Ford
- (05:08) The urine-soaked legacy of the Silverdome
- (07:49) How Bill’s father was almost the general manager of the Lions—and why that epitomizes the organization’s struggles
- (13:44) The reversal of fortune that coincided with Sheila Ford Hamp’s backing of coach Dan Campbell and GM Brad Holmes in 2022
- (15:27) Dissecting the team’s culture of failure
- (17:26) Why Ford kept former general manager Russ Thomas in a position of power for so long
- (22:26) How the Lions ruined former coach Bobby Ross
- (26:28) Differing perspectives on last year’s playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers
- (27:42) What it's like in metro Detroit on the eve of this highly anticipated new season
- (29:09) Why Barry Sanders simply handed the ball to the officials after a touchdown
- (30:08) The worst Lions loss Marshall ever saw—and what Sheila Ford Hamp did about it
- (31:35) The uncomfortable design history of the RenCen
- (35:38) The post-retirement signing bonus controversies of Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson
- (38:34) The moment we knew the Lions would lose the NFC championship against the 49ers
- (40:59) The organizational disasters that ended the Lions’s 1950s championship run
- (44:09) The phenomenon known as ‘Lions-free’
- (45:17) What rooting for the team again is like for us now
Post-interview, (49:03), we share what we would have said if someone had asked us to be general manager of the Lions.
Theme music: Mr. Jukes and Barney Artist, "Blowin Steam (Open Up Your Mind)
