Detroit Lions fire head athletic trainer Dave Granito: ‘We needed to go another way’

Detroit Free Press

The Detroit Lions made a rare in-season move to their training staff Friday, firing head athletic trainer Dave Granito.

First-year Lions coach Dan Campbell confirmed the move after Friday’s preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Campbell said the decision to fire Granito, who was hired in 2019, was not based on one incident.

“Really it’s just, felt like this was the way that we needed to go,” Campbell said. “I don’t really want to get into detail of it. I can tell you this, our guys were getting proper treatment, it was nothing like that. But it just, it felt like we needed to go another way and communication, some of those things, and so we did make that move.”

Granito was one of the last ex-New England Patriots brought into the organization under former Lions general manager Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia. He worked for the Patriots in 2002-16, during of much of Quinn and Patricia’s time in New England, and spent three seasons (2016-18) as director of athletic training at Michigan.

WHAT WE SAW: Lions observations from preseason game: Penei Sewell gives up sack on opening series

Assistant athletic trainer Tom Holt will serve as the Lions’ interim head trainer until the team hires a replacement.

“We are in talks with someone,” Campbell said. “I’m not going to give you that name, but we are in talks. And in the mean time, Tom Holt is taking over, assistant trainer, who’s done a really good job. We’ve put some stress on him and he’s answered the bell and been outstanding.”

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

Articles You May Like

6 key stats for Lions vs. Seahawks: Missed tackles plague Detroit
Amon-Ra St. Brown injury is not turf toe, expected to play vs. Falcons
Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown returns to practice
Marvin Jones Jr. player props odds, tips and betting trends for Week 3 | Lions vs. Falcons
Ranking first-time nominees for Pro Football Hall of Fame

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *