albionmoonlight
12-29-2003, 09:55 AM
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=1695238
DETROIT -- Matt Millen will be back next year as president and general manager of the Detroit Lions, who have had the worst record in the NFL during his three seasons in Detroit.
Lions owner William Clay Ford said Sunday he hadn't considered firing Millen, despite a 9-38 record during his tenure going into the team's final game vs. the St. Louis Rams.
"I want him," Ford said before the game. "I don't need any more reason than that."
Millen has two years left on a five-year, $15-million contract he signed after the 2000 season.
Ford said there may be changes on coach Steve Mariucci's staff, however.
Millen, who was not surprised by Ford's announcement, said he is even more determined to turn around the franchise he has run since leaving a lucrative job as a television analyst.
"You come to do a job and you've got to get it finished and find a way to get it done," said the former linebacker, who won four Super Bowls with three teams.
Ford agreed.
"The fans, and I don't blame them, are interested in the won-loss record and I guess that's the barometer you judge success or failure by if you're a fan," Ford said.
However, Ford said he's been pleased with Millen's drafts and leadership.
Ford said a big reason the Lions struggled -- again -- this season was because they have 15 players on injured reserve.
"I think of what could've been," Ford said. "It could've been a lot better."
Besides Detroit's awful record, Millen has been the source of some controversies.
He used a derogatory term for gays in a heated exchange two weeks ago with Kansas City receiver Johnnie Morton, who Millen cut two years ago. Millen later apologized.
"I'm not condoning what he said, but having said it, he did all the right things," Ford said.
Millen was fined $200,000 this summer by the NFL because he didn't follow the league's minority hiring policy when he hired Mariucci. Millen has refused to respond to the fine, but Ford criticized the league for fining Millen.
Last season, Millen apologized for his choice of words when he called an unidentified player a "devout coward."
"He may be learning on the job, but he's learning," Ford said.
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What does he need to do? Burn down Ford Field? I do not believe in the Dan Snyder/Nebraska school of thought which says that you have to fire anyone who does not produce excellent results over the course of one year. But during Millen's tenure, the Lions have undergone one of the worst stretches in football history. No team in the history of the NFL has lost more road games in a row than Millen's boys. And it's not like they have been undefeated at home, either. Why isn't performing worse than almost anyone in history who has ever had your job grounds for a firing? What am I missing?
DETROIT -- Matt Millen will be back next year as president and general manager of the Detroit Lions, who have had the worst record in the NFL during his three seasons in Detroit.
Lions owner William Clay Ford said Sunday he hadn't considered firing Millen, despite a 9-38 record during his tenure going into the team's final game vs. the St. Louis Rams.
"I want him," Ford said before the game. "I don't need any more reason than that."
Millen has two years left on a five-year, $15-million contract he signed after the 2000 season.
Ford said there may be changes on coach Steve Mariucci's staff, however.
Millen, who was not surprised by Ford's announcement, said he is even more determined to turn around the franchise he has run since leaving a lucrative job as a television analyst.
"You come to do a job and you've got to get it finished and find a way to get it done," said the former linebacker, who won four Super Bowls with three teams.
Ford agreed.
"The fans, and I don't blame them, are interested in the won-loss record and I guess that's the barometer you judge success or failure by if you're a fan," Ford said.
However, Ford said he's been pleased with Millen's drafts and leadership.
Ford said a big reason the Lions struggled -- again -- this season was because they have 15 players on injured reserve.
"I think of what could've been," Ford said. "It could've been a lot better."
Besides Detroit's awful record, Millen has been the source of some controversies.
He used a derogatory term for gays in a heated exchange two weeks ago with Kansas City receiver Johnnie Morton, who Millen cut two years ago. Millen later apologized.
"I'm not condoning what he said, but having said it, he did all the right things," Ford said.
Millen was fined $200,000 this summer by the NFL because he didn't follow the league's minority hiring policy when he hired Mariucci. Millen has refused to respond to the fine, but Ford criticized the league for fining Millen.
Last season, Millen apologized for his choice of words when he called an unidentified player a "devout coward."
"He may be learning on the job, but he's learning," Ford said.
________________________________________
What does he need to do? Burn down Ford Field? I do not believe in the Dan Snyder/Nebraska school of thought which says that you have to fire anyone who does not produce excellent results over the course of one year. But during Millen's tenure, the Lions have undergone one of the worst stretches in football history. No team in the history of the NFL has lost more road games in a row than Millen's boys. And it's not like they have been undefeated at home, either. Why isn't performing worse than almost anyone in history who has ever had your job grounds for a firing? What am I missing?