Editor's note: The Free Press was granted unprecedented access in the first week of January 2025 to a small group of Detroit Lions executives who helped rebuild the team on and off the field over the past five seasons. Below was Part 1 of our three-part series, originally published Jan. 12, 2025, during the NFL playoffs with the headline: "Matthew Stafford's secret was rocket fuel that revived Detroit Lions." The article leads with Stafford's trade request, and how owner Sheila Hamp and her small leadership team kept it quiet while interviewing candidates for their vacant general manager and head coach positions. The Lions ended up trading Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams , who they will play Sunday, Dec. 14, for Jared Goff, two first-round draft picks and a third-round pick.

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