Lions Owner Sheila Ford Hamp Backs Dan Campbell, GM Brad Holmes Despite 1-5 Start

Detroit Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp hasn't lost faith in head coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes despite the team's 1-5 start to the 2022 NFL season.

Ford Hamp acknowledged to reporters Wednesday she's frustrated with the Lions' position but said "we really are making progress." She added Campbell and Holmes were tasked with a "huge teardown and then turnaround," so this isn't the time to be hasty.

"We've got 11 more games to go, so I just don't want to ruin it, push the panic button and give up the ship because I think we've got the right people in place to pull this off, and I truly believe that," she said, per ESPN's Eric Woodyard. "And I wouldn't say that if I didn't believe it."

Detroit hired Holmes and then Campbell in January 2021. Shortly after the latter's arrival, the team lined up Matthew Stafford's trade to the Los Angeles Rams, which signaled a significant rebuild.

The Lions proceeded to go 3-13-1 in 2021, which was effectively a mulligan for everyone involved. Nobody expected them to be title contenders in 2022, but seeing some progress was a reasonable demand.

Detroit's record is a somewhat unfair reflection of its performance. The team's first three losses were all by four points or fewer, and it sits 26th in overall efficiency on Football Outsiders. The Lions aren't good, but they aren't abjectly awful, either.

One could argue they're in a holding pattern anyway until they can move on from Jared Goff at quarterback. The two-time Pro Bowler hasn't had a renaissance in the Motor City (4,828 yards, 30 touchdowns in 14 interceptions in 20 games), and winning in the NFL is difficult without a top-level quarterback.

Cutting Goff will become a realistic pathway this offseason, as his dead-cap hit will drop from $41.5 million to $10 million, per Spotrac. In addition, finishing with a terrible record works in Detroit's favor because it would potentially allow for Holmes and Campbell to select Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud or Alabama QB Bryce Young in the 2023 draft.

Holmes signed a five-year deal, while Campbell got a six-year pact. In both cases, it appears they'll have every chance to see their long-term vision through.