Detroit Lions hire Don Muhlbach as special assistant to the organization

The 17-year vet retires and returns to Detroit to begin a new career.

The Muhl is back!

The Detroit Lions announced on Friday morning that they have hired Don Muhlbach, who spent 17 years with the organization as the team’s long snapper, as a special assistant to the organization.

“In his new full-time role, Muhlbach will support Executive Vice President and General Manager Brad Holmes, President and CEO Rod Wood and Head Coach Dan Campbell with various projects across the team’s football and business operations”, the team said in a prepared statement.

Muhlbach was released during training camp—on his 40th birthday—a move that Campbell later expressed remorse for having to do, but it was “time”. Muhlbach doesn’t appear to harbor any bad feelings for how things went down and released this statement about his new role.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to wear the Honolulu Blue and Silver for the past 17 years,” Muhlbach said. “I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to remain with this organization that has given me so much. I’m excited about this new chapter of my career and to have the ability to continue working towards the goal of bringing a winning culture to Detroit.”

This is a nice move by an organization that has a rough history of not treating its superstars the best when exiting the team. Under this new regime, we have seen different approaches—like with the Matthew Stafford trade situation—to make sure that players who have spent a long time with the organization feel appreciated.

“We are thrilled to have Don remain an integral part of our organization, and I want to personally congratulate him on his official retirement as a player from the National Football League,” general manager Brad Holmes said. “Don is one of the most respected players in Lions history and having him work closely with a variety of football and business departments is a tremendous benefit to our entire team. His experience and knowledge on and off the field make him an invaluable resource for our players, coaches and staff, and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome him back in this new role.”