It is a similar position, and he's got traits like Derrick -- but Derrick has been to nine Pro Bowls, so that's where the comparison stops.

I don't think you look backwards.

You've got to find the type of men for whom football is so important to them that I've got to kick him out of the facility. He wants to be the best. 'How do I do it? Help me. What do I have to do to be great?' That's what I'm looking for, and that's what I'm going to find.

It's great to get this opportunity. I want to turn the Lions into a championship team. It's going to take hard work and I'll assemble a staff that will work hard for this organization.

Ray Lewis has done it, been in the Super Bowl, been in some Pro Bowls, so I think Jonathan Vilma kind of looks at him as a former Miami player and understands he has some attributes like Ray. Now it's just a matter of him playing to that level. As he progresses and becomes better, he has that potential.

His credentials speak for themselves, ... He's been to the Super Bowl and a couple of Pro Bowls. But he's a guy who's always been asked to [play] for a team that's rebuilding. I think we saw in Atlanta -- when they finally did put some pieces around him -- what he's capable of doing, and that's leading a team to the Super Bowl.