Rod Wood Named Lions President

ALLEN PARK Martha Ford did not go far to find the new team president for her Detroit Lions.

The Detroit Lions cleaned house earlier this season, removing the team president and general manager. Wood has worked closely with the organization over the past eight years in his role as president and CEO of Ford Estates.

The two will join with four other Ford children in a Search Advisory Board for a permanent General Manager. “But what’s important is to put a winning team on the field, not only for the city, the organization and our fans, but for the Ford family”.

Wood’s expertise is business not football. While he’ll handle the business side of running the organization, finding the right general manager will be key for the franchise.

The NFL has established a 10-person committee of former coaches, general managers and league personnel to help teams in coach and GM searches.

Even though Wood’s experience has not been in professional football, Ford said in her statement that she is “confident that Rod is the right person”.

“And I understand that his duties will certainly be spelled out directly, and he’ll talk tomorrow a little bit more about them”, Caldwell said.

Bill Ford Jr. has said publicly that he’s no longer involved with day-to-day operations of the team – Ford Hamp has taken a bigger role inside the organization – and many wonder about the team’s succession plan for ownership. Within Wood’s role as president and CEO, he “directs the delivery of a comprehensive set of financial and lifestyle management services to members of the Ford family”.

“As most people have noted, I’m not a football guy, that’s not in my background”, Wood told WJR. Currently, the team is under contract with 97.1 The Ticket. But the speed with which Wood – who has no football experience or credentials – got the job as team president suggests that the Fords had no one in the family willing or able to preside over the team until a formal search process identified the right person to serve as team president.

The team says he is a Goodrich High School graduate, and graduated from the University of MI.