5 Things About Where Detroit Lions Go from Here

This story has been updated.

Now that the Detroit Lions have fired president Tom Lewand and general manager Martin Mayhew, what’s next for the troubled team?

Owner Martha Firestone Ford cleared up some of the questions about the Lions’ future at a Thursday afternoon news conference, held a couple of hours after she told Lewand and Mayhew they were out around 11 a.m.

“We are very disappointed with the results of the season so far and believe a change in leadership was necessary,” Ford said, reading from a prepared statement at the team’s headquarters in Allen Park. She didn’t take questions.

“I also want to make clear that we have no intention of giving up on the season,” she said. “Our fans deserve a winning football team and we will do everything possible to make that a reality. We expect our team to compete, improve and win.”

Here are five things you need to know about the Lions organization:

1. Jim Caldwell remains on as head coach, at least for now. Caldwell fired three coaches — offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, offensive line coach Jeremiah Washburn and assistant offensive line coach Terry Heffernan — last week.

2. The moves announced by Ford suggest that the problem with the organization is in its inability to assemble the right people in the front office. “What the Fords must know, and in fact seem to have finally gotten, is that hiring a GM who is shrewd at assessing and collecting personnel has been the failing that accounts for a single Lions playoff victory in 50-plus years,” Lynn Henning, a sports columnist for The Detroit News, wrote.

3. Sheldon White, the Lions’ vice president of pro personnel, will serve as interim general manager while a national search is conducted to find a permanent replacement for Mayhew. He will report directly to Ford.

4. Allison Maki, senior vice president / administration and chief financial officer, will become the chief operating officer.

5. The Lions, with the worst record in the NFL, have nowhere but up to go from this point. The Lions also have the worst rushing attack in the league by almost 15 yards.

Tell Us

• What’s your reaction to the news that the Ford family has fired the Lions’ president and general manager? Is this enough to pull the team out of its slump? What else needs to be done?

Our Earlier Report

Off to an uninspiring 1-7 start this season, the Detroit Lions fired president Tom Lewand and general manager Martin Mayhew, ESPN is reporting.

The Detroit Free Press said Sheila Ford Hamp, the second-oldest of the four Ford children, will take a prominent role in the organization.

Mayhew and Leland, who put together the current roster, have been in charge of the team’s operations since 2008.

Owner Martha Ford, who took over the team after the death of her late husband, William Clay Ford, was expected to attend a Lions news conference Thursday.