Why are the Lions dissing Joe Schmidt AGAIN?

More than 31 years after refusing to tell Pat Swilling NO, the Lions are ignoring the passing of the greatest Lion of them all.

I know it’s not considered good form to criticize the Lions these days.

Heaven forbid you utter anything negative now, given the “culture change” and how popular the team is. Especially the day after a big win in Minnesota over the hated Vikings.

Tough.

There’s a lot of kumbaya now among the fan base, which completely trusts GM Brad Holmes, positively adores HC Dan Campbell and even thinks the owner is a goddess.

OK but the Lions are still short on class.

It’s been more than a month ago since we lost the great Joe Schmidt, who passed away on Sept. 11.

Joe Schmidt, the greatest Lion of them all. You heard me.

Joe Schmidt, whose hardscrabble upbringing in Pittsburgh—where he lost two brothers and his dad before he was a teenager—was the perfect backstory for a pro football career in equally blue collar Detroit.

But here we are, some six weeks after Joe passed—in the middle of the football season no less—and the Lions have yet to do anything to honor him.

No patch on the jerseys.

No sticker on the helmet.

No “56” on the Ford Field turf.

Nothing.

The Lions are doing it to Joe again.

The first time was in 1993.

The team had acquired pass rusher extraordinaire Pat Swilling from the Saints. In New Orleans, Swilling wore #56—Joe Schmidt’s number in Detroit. So after Swilling came to Detroit, even before the introductory presser, he asked if he could wear 56.

I don’t know if Swilling knew about the history of 56, which had been in mothballs since Joe played his last game in 1965. Regardless, Swilling asked and no one in the Lions front office told him no.

No one said, “Pat, you’re a great player and we’re happy to have you, but with all due respect, no one will wear 56 again, for it was the number of the great Joe Schmidt.”

That’s what SHOULD have happened.

Instead, the Lions said, “Well why don’t we ask Joe himself?”

Good grief.

Publicly, Schmidt, to his great credit because he was a classy guy, said sure, Pat Swilling can wear 56.

What else was he going to say?

But privately, Schmidt chafed at being put on the spot like that publicly. I don’t blame him. Privately, Joe wished the Lions would have told Swilling “no” to 56.

Now they’re doing it to Joe Schmidt again.

His death last month prompted a basic, perfunctory statement from the Lions.

We are saddened to hear of the passing of Joe Schmidt. Joe was a Lion through and through, having spent his entire career in Detroit, including 13 years as a linebacker and six seasons as our head coach. He patrolled the middle of our defense with such ferocity that he was named to 10 consecutive Pro Bowls from 1955 to 1964. Joe was an enduring link to our Championship era and one of the proudest Lions you will ever meet. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and was an inaugural member of our team's ring of honor, the Pride of the Lions, which will ensure his place in our history forever. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Marilyn, and the entire Schmidt family as we all mourn his passing.

That was literally the least they could do. They don’t get high marks for that.

For reasons that I can’t fathom, the Lions have a history of disrespecting their franchise greats.

They embarrassed and angered Barry Sanders by going after monies legally owed following Barry’s abrupt retirement in 1999.

They did the same thing to Calvin Johnson.

In 2019, they pissed off and offended the surviving family of Charlie Sanders by allowing T.J. Hockenson, a ROOKIE, to wear Charlie’s #88 before the kid had played a single game for the Lions, because the team hadn’t retired the number of a Hall of Famer.

These are all unforced errors and in all but the case of Barry, the common thread is President Rod Wood.

But shame on owner Sheila Ford Hamp as well, and I know that to speak ill of Sheila these days is tantamount to blasphemy.

Yet the Lions continue to wear the “WCF” on their jerseys, in honor of past owner Bill Ford, who died nearly 10 years ago.

Hmmm.

I know that the younger Lions fans probably don’t give two you-know-whats about Joe Schmidt and whether their team honors him or not. I know, because when I broached the subject on the team’s sub Reddit, I was excoriated.

Like I said, it’s not fashionable to criticize the Lions these days.

Two things can be true.

The Lions can, on the one hand, be praised for their rapid turnaround on the field under Holmes and Campbell. The franchise’s makeover has been stunning.

But the Lions should also, on the other hand, be roundly dragged for their continued lack of class when it comes to honoring their players’ legacies.

I’m not talking about the Pride of the Lions at Ford Field. That’s reserved for permanent recognition. Many NFL teams have similar honors. I’m talking about immediate, temporary recognition for the remainder of the 2024 season.

Maybe Rod Wood doesn’t want to disturb the Lions’ brand new uniforms.

After WR Chuck Hughes died during a game in 1971, Lions players wore black arm bands the rest of the season. Same in 1974 after HC Don McCafferty died of a heart attack during training camp.

Good on the Lions for that.

Yet here is the greatest Lion of them all passing away during the season and the Lions can’t be bothered to put a “56” sticker on the players’ helmets. Or sew a “56” patch on the jerseys.

It may not mean much to you, but it means a lot to me. I’ve followed the Lions since 1970, when Schmidt was the coach. I never saw Joe play, but I didn’t need to in order to understand his greatness. I never saw Babe Ruth play, either.

The Lions may be turning it around on the field, and Sheila Ford Hamp might be doing a great job as owner, but this is a big time miss.

I don’t understand it.