In Michigan, Benjamin Raven noted Lions owner Sheila Hamp “sent a message to season-ticket holders, ensuring their commitment to get the team back performing at the highest level.” Hamp in the letter wrote, “While we do not believe it is a time for drastic change, this is an opportunity for us to refocus, evolve, and move forward.” Raven noted Hamp has not “addressed beat reporters for a couple of years.” Lions GM Brad Holmes when asked about meetings with Hamp and other Lions officials last week said that he will “keep those talks private, but ‘the hope is to get to a Super Bowl and win a Super Bowl’” (MLIVE.com, 1/13).
GROWTH ALL AROUND: The CHARLOTTE OBSERVER’s editorial board stated the Panthers’ “growth on the field” has come as owner David Tepper has been “avoiding the wrong kind of headlines.” There has been a “lot of good from Tepper lately,” as he has been an “active and thoughtful benefactor in Charlotte.” His franchise has “not only won more games, it’s rebuilt relationships with former players.” The Panthers have “quietly built goodwill on and off the field,” and Tepper is a “significant part of that.” Fans that believe the team’s “failures and culture started at the top” also “should acknowledge that success is built from the owner’s box down” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 1/12).
EYE-OPENING REALIZATION: In Miami, Omar Kelly cited sources as saying that the Dolphins organization “realizes it has issues -- culture problems -- that need to be fixed,” and owner Steve Ross “seemingly came to this realization on his own.” Ross “vowed to do things differently, and got off to a solid start” by firing coach Mike McDaniel last week and hiring GM Jon-Eric Sullivan. The Dolphins “need a leader with a firm grip on the team, an alpha male who makes the most physical and forceful professional athletes listen out of not only respect, but fear” (MIAMI HERALD, 1/13).