But when the team also promoted Tom Lewand to president and kept Martin Mayhew as general manager, the fans were upset. Lewand and Mayhew were part of 0-16, too. They were part of the front office as the Lions went 31-97 since 2001, the worst eight-year stretch in the NFL since World War II.

Huh?

Lewand and Mayhew know the public-relations situation, and they aren't trying to fight it. But they believe they have what it takes to turn around a franchise that has only one playoff victory in more than half a century.

"Our words are just that," Lewand said. "The thing that we can say to our fans out there is not that our words are going to change 0-16. Our actions are going to change 0-16."

Lewand will oversee the team in general and day-to-day business. Mayhew will have final say on football matters, from hiring the coach to drafting players.

While acknowledging they were part of Matt Millen's disastrous seven-plus years as Lions president, Lewand and Mayhew also carefully distanced themselves from that era.

"It's an exciting opportunity because we have the chance to do this the right way," Lewand said.

Lewand and Mayhew said they learned from the mistakes made, know how to fix them and outlined their vision for the future.

"My role in the organization now will be implementing my plan," Mayhew said. "My role before was implementing somebody else's plan. I made recommendations. I made suggestions. Ultimately, the people who made decisions were the ones who were paid to make those decisions."

Under Millen, the Lions suffered from a lack of consistency and continuity. Coaches came and went. Systems came and went. Players came and went. The pieces never fit together.

"We've jumped from thing to thing and idea to idea," Mayhew said. "Sometimes it hasn't always matched up, what we're doing offensively and what we're doing defensively. What our president and CEO's philosophy was vs. what we were trying to do on the football field didn't always match up. I think that has to match up in the future."

Lewand and Mayhew spoke of having a clear philosophy and a detailed plan -- and sticking to them. While they declined to share specifics of their plan, citing competitive reasons, they shared some of their philosophy.

Mayhew said they want a bigger, faster, more physical team with tough, smart players. Lewand said they want a strong, smart leader for a coach. The coach must fit their general philosophy, but they are flexible on what type of offense or defense to run.

Under Millen, the Lions wasted money on free agents and wasted draft picks, from the top of the draft to the bottom.

"We will build this thing through the draft," Mayhew said. "We're not going to be jumping out there in free agency and throwing 30 million bucks at somebody on the first day or at midnight."