Who Called the Shot on Firiing Marinelli?
Burning Questions | by Mike O'Hara | 12.29.2008/3:37PM
Burning questions on the firing of Lions head coach Rod Marinelli and other front-office moves:
Q. What was the most important question left to be answered from Monday’s announcements by Owner William Clay Ford?
A. “Who fired Rod Marinelli? That’s the biggest questions. Was it Ford? Or was it the front-office tandem of general manager Martin Mayhew and president Tom Lewan?”
Q. At his press conference Monday, Marinelli said he got the news from Mayhew on Monday morning and was told that Ford would call him later in the day. What did you make of that?
A. “On the surface, it seemed strange that Ford did not do it in person. But in recent years, Ford has had his chief executive – that was Matt Millen, before Ford fired him on Sept. 24 – do the firing.
“Millen fired Gary Moeller, Marty Mornhinweg, Steve Mariucci and Dick Jauron. At his press conference, Marinelli said he was told by Mayhew, not Ford, and was told that Ford would call him later on Monday.”
Q. What question does that leave unanswered?
A. “The question is whether the decision was Ford’s, a combination of Mayhew and Lewand, or a joint decision by the owner and his front-office executives.”
Q. Ford also announced two promotions – Lewand to president, and Mayhew to general manager. What does that mean?
A. “It means that there is no chance Ford will bring in an outsider to run the franchise. The way Ford has the jobs structured, it looks like Mayhew will be in charge of football operations, and Lewand will be in charge of business. But the title of president appears to put Lewand over Mayhew. It needs to be clarified whether Mayhew has full authority over football operations and reports only to the owner.”
Q. How do you expect fans to react to the front-office announcement?
A. “With skepticism, and rightfully so. The Lions are in a “prove-it” mode. They’ve had two winning seasons in the last 13. Fanss shouldn’t take it on blind faith that the new lineup will be a success.
There are some good coaching candidates available, but there are no guarantees that anyone will win anywhere.”
Q. The Lions also announced that most of the assistants have been retained. Does that mean the new coach has to keep them?
A. “No. It’s common for teams to keep assistants under contract. It helps a new head coach build a staff if he doesn’t want to hire 15-18 new assistants. Most of the assistants are likely to be replaced, but having them under contract is the right move.”
Q. Defensive coordinator Joe Barry was one of a handful of coaches who will not be back. Is that a surprise?
A. “That was expected. The defense ranked at the bottom for two straight years. Nothing he did turned it around.”
Q. Jim Colletto was demoted from offensive coordinator to coaching the offensive line. Was that a surprise?
A. “No. Keeping him as offensive-line coach isn’t a bad idea. The line improved. The running game got better, and sacks were reduced. And the linemen and running back Kevin Smith got used to the zone-blocking scheme. Colletto might return for a new head coach.”
Q. Marinelli was generally upbeat at his press conference. What do you make of his attitude and his future?
A. “That’s his nature. He’s not a phony. He loves coaching and said he wants to continue. He’ll have a job somewhere in the NFL next season. There was a report out of Chicago Monday that Bears head coach Lovie Smith might hire him. The two men are close friends and have worked together. However, the Chicago connection is pure speculation.”
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15 and Counting: Lions Head to 0-16
Burning Questions | by Mike O'Hara | 12.21.2008/8:16PM
DETROIT—- Mike O’Hara’s burning questions from the Detroit Lions’ 42-7 loss to the New Orleans Saints at Ford Field on Sunday, leaving them with a 0-15 record with one game left:
Q. That’s 0-15 for the Lions, and one more loss to make it 0-16. Will they make history – the first NFL team to go 0-16 in a season – in next week’s season-ending game at Green Bay?
A. Yes. History beckons the Lions. They’re 0-15, headed for 0-16. It’s s shame, and a terrible burden to bear for the people connected to this team, but there is no logical way to predict a victory at Green Bay.
Q. Is it hopeless in Green Bay?
A. There is no such thing as hopeless, but this is as close as it gets. It was hopeless last year for the Miami Dolphins when they were 0-14, but they beat Baltimore in overtime for their only win of the year. Every team has a chance, however small
But the Lions are down to one game – one last chance to avoid infamy – and the odds against them are stacked as high as the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit.
Q. Is it just history working against the Lions? Their last win on Green Bay’s home field was in 1991.
A. It isn’t history. It’s the 2008 Detroit Lions – the way they play, the way they don’t play. It’s their own ineptness that works against them. It has nothing to do with what happened 17 years ago, or last year, or the years in between. It’s this year’s team.
Q. Describe Sunday’s game in one word.
A. Dreadful, just like the weather. No fancy sermon or long-winded explanations are needed.
One word sums it up: dreadful.
It was dreadful from the moment the first fan entered the stadium until the Lions trudged to the locker room with another loss.
In fact, it was more than dreadful. It was as close to hopeless as it can get.
Q. Was there a low point?
A. The whole day was a low point, but one that stood out was early in the third quarter, when the fans started chanting for Joey Harrington. He’s the Saints’ third-string quarterback. Harrington was the fans’ favorite whipping boy in four seasons with the Lions, and the chants mocked him and the Lions.
Q. What action do you expect from the owner, William Clay Ford, after the season?
A. We’ll get to that after next week’s game, but you can expect massive changes in the coaching staff and some tweaking in the front office. But now, the concentration is on Sunday’s game and the last week of this mess.
Q. OK. What were the highlights – or lowlights – for the Lions against the Saints? Start with the defense. What was wrong?
A. Whether it’s the system, the players or a combination of both, it’s the worst defense in the history of the franchise. The Saints are out of the playoffs and had nothing to play for, but they ran and passed through the Lions like they were running training-camp drills.
The first-half stats were stunning. The Saints had 19 first downs – that’s five more than the Lions’ offense averages in a GAME – and they converted all six third-down situations. That means nobody on the defense made a play.
Q. What about the offense?
A. What offense?
Q. Seriously, what about the offense?
A. It had a few moments – mostly Kevin Smith’s runs and Calvin Johnson’s catches – but there were no stars on that side of the ball, either.
Q. What were some of the biggest shortcomings?
A. The score speaks for itself, but there were times when the Lions looked disorganized. They had trouble getting substitutions on defense.
And a couple of times, the offense was ragged.
A touchdown pass to Calvin Johnson was called back because the tackle, Gosder Cherilus, was lined up too far off the line.
On the fourth play of the second quarter, the Lions had third and one at the Saints’ 45. They called time before running a play. At this stage of the season, that should be automatic.
Worst of all was the first play of the second half. The Lions tried to call time, but the officials already had thrown the flag for having 12 men in the huddle.
They had the whole halftime to call a play, and they couldn’t get the right people on the field. That’s a disgrace on any level of football – and unforgivable for pros. That’s bad coaching, nothing else.
Q. The Lions scored a touchdown – a one-yard run by Kevin Smith – in the second quarter. It was was a strange drive. Not counting a penalty, the Lions ran 12 plays, and the ball went to Smith and Calvin Johnson on all 12 plays. Smith ran eight times. Johnson caught three passes and had another thrown to him in the end zone that was incomplete. What does that say about the offense?
A. It means the offense has two playmakers – Johnson and Smith. And that might be two more than the defense has.
Q. Last question: will the Lions win at Green Bay?
A. The Lions are chasing history – and history wins. The Lions are looking at 0-16, and they can’t stop it.
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