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.

I don't think you look backwards.

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.

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.

Let's put aside the politics and trust the people. Let's embrace the unique opportunity we all have; take the heat and make the hard and difficult decisions, knowing that we're doing it to make things better for the people of Illinois.

When you get to this stage, it's like a heavyweight boxing match. Teams are feeling each other out ... nobody wants to make a mistake. But then, they opened up.