Sound the bugle Detroit! The devil reincarnate Lions’ GM Matt Millen has been fired! Go ahead and pinch yourself because this is NOT a dream.
It took the Lions long enough to figure out that the Millen experiment at GM was just not working out. After seven seasons of heartbreak and anguish for Lions’ fans, the Ford family decided to give him the ol’ heave-ho.
Shockingly, it does come as some sort of a surprise since the Fords have backed him despite the Lions going a league low 31-84 since his tenure in the front office began in 2001. But on Tuesday, anger from an 0-3 start began to show. William Clay Ford Jr., the son of Lions’ owner and Chairman William Clay Ford, said that if he could he would fire Millen.
Ford Jr. got his wish. His dad released this statement on Wednesday:
“I have relieved Matt Millen of his duties effective immediately,” Ford said. “I believe that this decision is in the best interest of this organization. I appreciate Matt’s efforts. Matt worked tirelessly during his tenure to win, and he would be the first one to tell you that you have to win in this league. It just didn’t work out.”
It just didn’t work out, eh? Way to state the obvious. A sensible owner would have noticed it wasn’t working out maybe 4-5 years ago. Ford should have canned Millen after his second or third straight losing season. Maybe, they should have gotten a clue after poor drafts began to mount on them. Hey, at least Millen found two valuable wide receivers. I mean after 70 picks, you’re bound to find some gems right? Too bad he didn’t find any of them defense aside from Ernie Sims.
The painful comedy routine in Detroit is hopefully over, but fans should expect an aftershock to happen this season. Head coach Rod Marinelli and the rest of his staff know that the end is near for them. Unfortunately, almost every new GM likes to bring in “their guy,” and most likely, it won’t be Marinelli .
Also, don’t expect the team to rally around their coach for that reason. They too are on the hot seat. If anything, most of them will play to see if they can stick around, but for a guy like Jon Kitna, he has to know that the writing is on the wall for him as well. When you are pushing you’re late-30′s, early-40′s, a new regime is looking to find a new quarterback. And with the potential QB class for 2009, you can bet the Lions will be taking a hard look at that position to rebuild the franchise and give it a new face to overshadow that of Millen.
Sources close to the situation told the Associated Press that Chief Operating Officer Tom Lewand and Assistant GM Martin Mayhew will share GM duties for the rest of the season. Hopefully, the Lions look long and hard for the next GM this offseason. It’s time for a nice cleansing. When that happens, the Lions fans will return.
The best way to compare this is through an NHL analogy. When Chicago Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz died, so did his old fashion ideas (i.e. blacking out home games, pinching his pennies on players, etc.). When his son Rocky Jr. took over, he gave his GM more flexibility to sign and make trades for big name players. He also looked to former Cubs President John McDonough to recapture the fans they lost, which is something McDonough has a knack for doing. Shortly thereafter, the team started to win again. As a result, the fans returned in bunches, and the team has regained relevance in Chicago again.
If they find a GM who is willing to make bold moves and win meaningful ball games, there is no doubt that the lost fans will return. For a good chunk of fans, Millen was the final straw for them, and as a result, they began to walk away. If they finally get a decent product, they will pack the stadium full without staging a walkout.
You can’t undo some mistakes, but at least you can learn from them and not make them again, so hopefully the Lions don’t mess the next hire up. They couldn’t get someone equally as incompetent, right? Right?