Tigers#1
11-26-2006, 01:37 PM
Millen may be on his way out
Rumors of Matt Millens firing are boiling now.
The Internet is so hot with Millen dismissal stories they are hard to ignore. But with the way hes run this team, it is completely understandable why these rumors wont go away.
The story goes something like this. The Fords were angry over another embarrassing Thanksgiving loss. Last year they acted immediately after Thanksgiving and fired coach Steven Mariucci. Now their target might be Millen.
The stories say they are negotiating a buyout with Millen and they hope to have an announcement on Monday or Tuesday. The reason we are not hearing anything sooner is because they did not want to overshadow the Michigan High School Athletic Association football finals played Friday and Saturday at Ford Field.
I believe there is something to it. I do believe the Fords spoke over Thanksgiving dinner and had a state of the Lions talk.
It is difficult to sugarcoat what has happened. You look at the botched first-round draft picks, the 21-68 record and the threat of losing the Thanksgiving Day game to another team and you see why the Fords might be on edge.
The Lions are going through their worst stretch in franchise history. It is even worse than when Darryl Rogers uttered, Whats a guy got to do to get fired around here?
Their six-year record is the worst in the NFL and they still have never played in a Super Bowl.
Lets take an educated guess here. The Fords have spoken about the state of the Lions in the past few days. And if they are contemplating whether to keep or dropkick Millen, let me give them a gentle nudge.
This is not a case of whether you should fire Millen. You have to. You have no choice.
You are losing your fan base slowly, but surely. It might not reflect in season-ticket sales or television ratings. But people used to renew season tickets because they were encouraged or wanted to see Barry Sanders run. Now many feel like fools because they renew and can't give solid reasons why they should come back.
But they are coming back, reluctantly.
The fans are trying to plan another revolt. It will probably fail because it is difficult to get Lions fans to agree on one plan. But they did pull off the orange out last season and a few hundred of them successfully pulled off the Millen Man March.
The plan did not shake the Fords to action, but it showed there is unrest in this town. Some folks want to walk out with four minutes remaining in the second quarter of the last game of the season. Some want another march. Others have made up T-shirts that say Sack Millen that are likely to start showing up at Ford Field.
I feared their passion for this team was severely damaged when the Fords refused to fire Millen last season and then the team got off to this horrendous 2-9 start. They appeared apathetic during the Tigers' playoff run. But their anger appears to be back.
I write about these rumors because my email has been flooded with Lions fans that are hopeful the Millen era is over. They believe this is too good to be true. And I am sure a bunch of them went to bed Saturday night with their fingers crossed and a rabbits foot under their pillow hoping for this move.
Now one of three things is going to happen.
1. The Lions retain Millen. The rumors go away and they continue losing. Head coach Rod Marinelli and his staff would have two years to bail Millen out or lose their jobs.
2. The Lions fire Millen and hand over control to CEO Tom Lewand and Bill Ford Jr. They already have a game plan in place. If this one happens, they will either stick with Rod Marinelli and his coaches for a couple more seasons to see if they can straighten things out. Or they will turn to Chargers offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and hand over the coaching spot to him and his new staff. I also hear former coach Gary Moeller could be in the mix.
The Lions liked Moeller and some in the front office were angry when Millen didn't retain him. Ive spoken to Moeller a couple of times and he maintains the Lions did not have to be blown up after a 9-7 injury-plagued season in 1999.
He believes he could have rebuilt on the fly with a couple of 8-8 or 7-9 seasons and then take off from there.
3. The entire organization is blown up. That includes Millen and Lewand, the coaching staff and the front office. It would mean starting from scratch and turning the Lions into the oldest expansion team in NFL history.
If that happens, it is my understanding the NFL would give the Fords help in trying to rebuild. The league at the very least would help the franchise find the right man to take over. He would not be a former commentator or ex-jock. Hed be a person who helped build a successful franchise somewhere else or was the right-hand man who helped build a team.
I like a lot of the people in the Lions' front office, but choice three seems like the best alternative.
The new person would get carte blanche over the organization. Hed be able to hire and fire anyone he wants, and that includes Marinelli.
The old Lions way did not work. And the new Lions way certainly is not working. Perhaps it is time to try another way.
Ive spoken to a few people around the league off the record about Millen. Do you know what the best thing they say about him is?
He is a heck of a guy. People like him.
Thats not good enough. These people are starving for a winning team. They deserve it.
The only thing they had to look forward to this season was opening day and booing Miami Dolphins quarterback Joey Harrington. Both turned into disasters.
Harrington, the guy everybody blamed for the Lions woes, trotted out of Ford Field with a blueberry cobbler and a 27-10 Thanksgiving Day victory.
Here is a sobering statistic for you. Since Millen took over, the Lions are 18-37 in games Harrington has started. They are 5-31 in games he did not.
Does that hit home?
My NFL people are right. Millen is a great guy. He is funny and engaging and tells great stories. Youd love to swap stories over a beer or dinner. Youd love to listen to him on television or even sit next to him during a game.
You just dont want him running your NFL franchise.
I dont know if these rumors are true. I simply pray they are.
Rumors of Matt Millens firing are boiling now.
The Internet is so hot with Millen dismissal stories they are hard to ignore. But with the way hes run this team, it is completely understandable why these rumors wont go away.
The story goes something like this. The Fords were angry over another embarrassing Thanksgiving loss. Last year they acted immediately after Thanksgiving and fired coach Steven Mariucci. Now their target might be Millen.
The stories say they are negotiating a buyout with Millen and they hope to have an announcement on Monday or Tuesday. The reason we are not hearing anything sooner is because they did not want to overshadow the Michigan High School Athletic Association football finals played Friday and Saturday at Ford Field.
I believe there is something to it. I do believe the Fords spoke over Thanksgiving dinner and had a state of the Lions talk.
It is difficult to sugarcoat what has happened. You look at the botched first-round draft picks, the 21-68 record and the threat of losing the Thanksgiving Day game to another team and you see why the Fords might be on edge.
The Lions are going through their worst stretch in franchise history. It is even worse than when Darryl Rogers uttered, Whats a guy got to do to get fired around here?
Their six-year record is the worst in the NFL and they still have never played in a Super Bowl.
Lets take an educated guess here. The Fords have spoken about the state of the Lions in the past few days. And if they are contemplating whether to keep or dropkick Millen, let me give them a gentle nudge.
This is not a case of whether you should fire Millen. You have to. You have no choice.
You are losing your fan base slowly, but surely. It might not reflect in season-ticket sales or television ratings. But people used to renew season tickets because they were encouraged or wanted to see Barry Sanders run. Now many feel like fools because they renew and can't give solid reasons why they should come back.
But they are coming back, reluctantly.
The fans are trying to plan another revolt. It will probably fail because it is difficult to get Lions fans to agree on one plan. But they did pull off the orange out last season and a few hundred of them successfully pulled off the Millen Man March.
The plan did not shake the Fords to action, but it showed there is unrest in this town. Some folks want to walk out with four minutes remaining in the second quarter of the last game of the season. Some want another march. Others have made up T-shirts that say Sack Millen that are likely to start showing up at Ford Field.
I feared their passion for this team was severely damaged when the Fords refused to fire Millen last season and then the team got off to this horrendous 2-9 start. They appeared apathetic during the Tigers' playoff run. But their anger appears to be back.
I write about these rumors because my email has been flooded with Lions fans that are hopeful the Millen era is over. They believe this is too good to be true. And I am sure a bunch of them went to bed Saturday night with their fingers crossed and a rabbits foot under their pillow hoping for this move.
Now one of three things is going to happen.
1. The Lions retain Millen. The rumors go away and they continue losing. Head coach Rod Marinelli and his staff would have two years to bail Millen out or lose their jobs.
2. The Lions fire Millen and hand over control to CEO Tom Lewand and Bill Ford Jr. They already have a game plan in place. If this one happens, they will either stick with Rod Marinelli and his coaches for a couple more seasons to see if they can straighten things out. Or they will turn to Chargers offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and hand over the coaching spot to him and his new staff. I also hear former coach Gary Moeller could be in the mix.
The Lions liked Moeller and some in the front office were angry when Millen didn't retain him. Ive spoken to Moeller a couple of times and he maintains the Lions did not have to be blown up after a 9-7 injury-plagued season in 1999.
He believes he could have rebuilt on the fly with a couple of 8-8 or 7-9 seasons and then take off from there.
3. The entire organization is blown up. That includes Millen and Lewand, the coaching staff and the front office. It would mean starting from scratch and turning the Lions into the oldest expansion team in NFL history.
If that happens, it is my understanding the NFL would give the Fords help in trying to rebuild. The league at the very least would help the franchise find the right man to take over. He would not be a former commentator or ex-jock. Hed be a person who helped build a successful franchise somewhere else or was the right-hand man who helped build a team.
I like a lot of the people in the Lions' front office, but choice three seems like the best alternative.
The new person would get carte blanche over the organization. Hed be able to hire and fire anyone he wants, and that includes Marinelli.
The old Lions way did not work. And the new Lions way certainly is not working. Perhaps it is time to try another way.
Ive spoken to a few people around the league off the record about Millen. Do you know what the best thing they say about him is?
He is a heck of a guy. People like him.
Thats not good enough. These people are starving for a winning team. They deserve it.
The only thing they had to look forward to this season was opening day and booing Miami Dolphins quarterback Joey Harrington. Both turned into disasters.
Harrington, the guy everybody blamed for the Lions woes, trotted out of Ford Field with a blueberry cobbler and a 27-10 Thanksgiving Day victory.
Here is a sobering statistic for you. Since Millen took over, the Lions are 18-37 in games Harrington has started. They are 5-31 in games he did not.
Does that hit home?
My NFL people are right. Millen is a great guy. He is funny and engaging and tells great stories. Youd love to swap stories over a beer or dinner. Youd love to listen to him on television or even sit next to him during a game.
You just dont want him running your NFL franchise.
I dont know if these rumors are true. I simply pray they are.