Ownership “very happy” with Lions new regime

Bill Ford Jr., the team’s vice chairman, knows the Lions have been competitively bankrupt for the past 10 years. Maybe that’s why he won’t define success for the team in Jim Schwartz’s second season as coach and Matthew Stafford’s second season as franchise quarterback. “I don’t want to replay the last 10 years,” Ford told the Free Press on Wednesday. “We are where we are. I’m just very happy with the new regime.” But he sees improvement in how the front office operates now compared to when Matt Millen called the shots. And he believes general manager Martin Mayhew is cut from the same mold as Ford Motor CEO Alan Mulally. That’s high praise considering Mulally orchestrated Ford’s ascension from the domestic automotive abyss. — Detroit Free Press