Comments for Millen Done

Millen Done

2008-09-24T14:46:32Z

Damn. Not sure it helps. Ford stuck with Millen all this time. That says to me that there are ownership issues? But while we're on the topic--WTF is with drafting three straight wide-receivers?

UPDATE: Props to commenter Frank for the news.

UPDATE #2: Dig this

The Lions are 31-84 under Millen

Wow. That really puts into perspective how long Millen sucked. Who in the NFL is allowed to stick around and lose like that? No head coach could have that win-loss ratio. That is just awful. Was he Ford's son-in-law? Are we entering into Worst GM ever territory? I know Elgin Baylor was pretty bad for a while too.

Comment from DamnYankees on 2008-09-24

2008-09-24T14:53:22Z

Let's not leave Isaiah out of the conversation.

Comment from Stacy on 2008-09-24

2008-09-24T14:53:35Z

I agree that drafting three straight WR's seems pretty dumb. That being said, I'm not sure if a failure in a past draft,(Mike Williams) should dictate how you draft a couple years later when there's a sure thing on the board.(Calvin Johnson)
Although didn't they also draft Charles Rogers a few years before that? Yeah, their drafts have really sucked.

Comment from Ta-Nehisi Coates on 2008-09-24

2008-09-24T15:00:25Z

Agreed Stacy. We missed Roy Williams in there too. Doesn't that make it like four in five years? Or four in six? The point is he should have nailed it the first time.

Comment from shikantaza on 2008-09-24

2008-09-24T15:07:13Z

I live in Detroit currently, but grew up in the Bay Area... I had mixed feeling about my Niners stomping the Lions. I don't pay attention to the Lions much (prefer UofM football and the Tigers) but I still felt kind of bad about the whooping. I want things to go right for Detroit.

That being said, maybe this is for the best. Millen sux00rz.

Comment from Mikel on 2008-09-24

2008-09-24T15:08:19Z

Millen was useless, totally and utterly useless.

He was the biggest joke in the league.

I guess we'll be seeing the pictures he had of the Ford family that kept him employed this long.

It's funny how Millen gets fired the day after Ta-Nehisi blogs about his ineptitude.

If I didn't know any better (I don't BTW) I would think that William Clay Ford peeped New York magazine's Approval Matrix and saw the mention of TNC, went to the blog, saw what was written about Millen and decided that if the legendary Ta-Nehisi Coates feels that Millen should be fired, then fuck it, Millen's ass is gone.

I'm a shameless mofo I know, but I'm just sayin'...

Comment from Incertus on 2008-09-24

2008-09-24T15:14:26Z

Even when the Saints had their historic runs of badness--like the first twenty years of their existence--they switched up GMs fairly often. I don't know what took Detroit so long.

Comment from McKingford on 2008-09-24

2008-09-24T15:28:01Z

Dude - it was 4 receivers in 5 years:

2003 - Charles Rogers, 2nd overall. Cut - out of the league.
2004 - Roy Williams, 7th overall. Still on team (but wants out - hell, who wouldn't?)
2005 - Mike Williams, 10th overall. Traded for bucket of warm spit - now out of the league.
2007 - Calvin Johnson, 2nd overall. Still on team.

God it's been awful being a Lions fan since the days of Billy Sims.

Comment from Hill Rat on 2008-09-24

2008-09-24T15:29:55Z

When people say that there's no racism in sports, that it's a pure meritocracy I point to Matt Millen and ask what Black man could be so bad for so long without getting fired? People will point to Isiah's run of ineptitude in New York, but that was preceded with a run of moderate success as a head coach.

I will be interested in seeing what kind of blackmail material Millen had on the Ford family.

Comment from DougEFresh on 2008-09-24

2008-09-24T15:36:11Z

I think they took 4 in 6 years with the wide outs.
On talk radio, they don't even want to hear about the ownership because they all know it sucks and you can't fire the owner. Though everyone in town wishes they could work for the Lions front office, it is nearly impossible to get fired.

Comment from SeanH on 2008-09-24

2008-09-24T15:36:15Z

The Lions are 31-84 under Millen

They were 65-63 in the 8 years before Millen took over.

Comment from Ta-Nehisi Coates on 2008-09-24

2008-09-24T15:39:10Z

Good lord, so they were, at least, a winning franchise in those years. What a wreck.

Comment from Lester Spence on 2008-09-24

2008-09-24T15:51:17Z

Just got this on email a second ago.

The best news I've heard all week. If Sr. steps down and gives the reigns to his son then it'd be even better.

Comment from hubcapiv on 2008-09-24

2008-09-24T15:51:52Z

Millen was awful but he was also just a symptom of a bigger disease for the Lions; he made things horrible, but no functional organization would keep a guy like that in charge for that long. Things might get a little better now that Millen is gone. But as long as Wm. Clay Ford is calling the shots, that organization will be messed up.

I speak as a long-time Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan. I remember talking football one time in the early 90s and someone told me things were looking up for the Bucs - they had a decent draft and made some free agent pickups. I said, "they are looking up, because owner Hugh Culverhouse is dying of lung cancer and maybe the team will be sold to someone who has a clue."

I felt bad saying that, but it was true.

Comment from Erik Love on 2008-09-24

2008-09-24T15:55:46Z

OK. I'm a long time fan of yours, Ta-Nehisi, and an even longer-time fan of my Lions.

Millen needed to be fired about 6 years ago. Aside from the ridiculous drafts, let's not overlook his awful trades and bad decisions just across the board. Last year we gave up Dre Bly for... Tatum Bell. We gave up Shaun Rogers for... a 7th round pick. It's hard to think of something Millen did right over the years.

And for all the depressed Lions fans across the internet saying that there's no point in firing Millen now: I'm sure the front office has already started preparing for the 2009 draft. There's trades to be made and coaches to hire. I'm glad Millen won't be a part of that any more.

So, how does this Lions fan feel today, after his Fire Millen chant has finally been effective? This story about nature retaking skyscrapers in Detroit about sums up how I feel about this whole Millen story. Thanks for breaking the news to me, TNC.

http://www.detroitblog.org/?p=547

Comment from Curtis on 2008-09-24

2008-09-24T16:22:39Z

I also nominate Allard Baird for worst GM ever, though he was also hamstrung by ridiculous ownership.

Comment from Steve on 2008-09-24

2008-09-24T16:34:52Z

Uh yeah, they were a barely winning franchise in the 8 years before Millen's arrival... but let's not forget, the team had Barry Sanders up through the 1998 season!

I've been a Lions fan my entire life but other than lucking into one of the greatest running backs of all time (in case anyone's forgotten, the Packers took frickin' Tony Mandarich with the #2 pick) it has been one long period of suck. Millen was awful, yeah, but let's not overstate where the franchise would have been without him.

Comment from frankie d on 2008-09-24

2008-09-24T17:04:21Z

it all goes back to the old man ford.
when he finally had to fire wayne fontes, as coach, he actually regretted having to do so.
he was quoted as saying that he really thought that fontes had had a very successul run as coach, despite his decidedly mediocre record.
the true reason he fired fontes was because the fans finally started staying at home.
ford's priorities could not be more clear: as long as fans filled the stadium, he was happy. when the fans start staying away, that is when he acts. you can look it up. plain and simple.

Comment from SeanH on 2008-09-24

2008-09-24T18:02:15Z

Uh yeah, they were a barely winning franchise in the 8 years before Millen's arrival... but let's not forget, the team had Barry Sanders up through the 1998 season!
I've been a Lions fan my entire life but other than lucking into one of the greatest running backs of all time (in case anyone's forgotten, the Packers took frickin' Tony Mandarich with the #2 pick) it has been one long period of suck. Millen was awful, yeah, but let's not overstate where the franchise would have been without him.

Actually, they were a lot better than 65-63 seems because there are two 5-11 seasons in there dragging the record down. They went to the playoffs 5 of those eight years.

That wasn't all due to Barry either. Barry was gone the last two seasons (1999&2000) before Millen. In 1999 they made the playoffs and in 2000 they went 9-7. If I remember right, they also barely missed the playoffs in 2000 because the Bears made a game-winning, 50-something-yard field goal in the final game to knock them out. Then Millen took over and ran them straight into the ground.

I'm not saying they were great before Millen, but most GMs or coaches in the league would sell their soul for 5 playoff seasons over the next 8 years.

BTW, in case it's new to anyone, that Pro Football Reference site in my link is stat nerd heaven.

Comment from SpottieOttieDopaliscious on 2008-09-24

2008-09-24T18:55:21Z

Millen insisted on tearing apart that 9-7 team in order to "build a championship contender" from the ground up. You all know how that turned out.

It's not just that he drafted wide receivers with four first round picks. It's that he put together his team like he was playing Madden. As someone who loves Madden, I did appreciate that no matter how bad we were, I always had some decent skill position players to mess with in the game. But that's virtual, which doesn't translate well to real life, where defense and blocking tend to be the hallmarks of good teams.

Every year as a Lions fan I would hope that this would be the year we would take Derrick Johnson, Shawn Merriman, Joe Thomas...someone who could make us tougher. But no, the Lions haven't had a Pro Bowl O-lineman since Lomas Brown.

The moral of the Millen saga? Drafting skill position players is for chumps. If the NFL draft is a risk-reward proposition, the bad teams are best off going for the safest choices- defensive and offensive lineman, DBs and linebackers. Save the skill position players for the late rounds and free agency. After all, for every Peyton or Eli Manning, there is a Tom Brady or Tony Romo. First round wide receivers have probably the second highest bust potential. Notice how the teams that are known for drafting well tend to almost always pick linemen or defensive players in the first round.

Comment from Charlie on 2008-09-24

2008-09-24T20:08:08Z

Matt Millen wasn't fired -- he's suspending his campaign.

http://www.undiplomatic.net/2008/09/24/this-one-is-for-my-brother-in-law/

Heh.

Comment from cas on 2008-09-24

2008-09-24T22:26:17Z

Lions fans across the nation (somebody has Calvin Johnson on their fantasy squad--so I'm counting them) gave a collective sigh of relief. Sure, we'll still probably go 3-13 (with a little luck), but the albatross has been tossed overboard.

Millen failed worse during his tenure than any GM in history. Who keeps a job for eight years having proven his incompetence more demonstratively each year? Who does he think he is? The president?

Comment from Lemar Mundane on 2008-09-24

2008-09-25T00:20:31Z

isn't this like choosing which venereal disease is the worst? Isiah Thomas took a marquee NBA franchise and transformed the team through trades, free agent signings and sex harassment suits into the laughing stock of the NBA.

Comment from Andrew Fly on 2008-09-24

2008-09-25T02:32:49Z

I just read that Detroit is 8-50 in its past 58 road games. pathetic

Comment from Aaron on 2008-09-25

2008-09-25T14:32:32Z

SeanH makes a great point - not only did the Lions have a (narrowly) winning record for those eight years, but they reached a new level of futility under Millen by starting out with six straight seasons of 10+ losses (for a .250 winning percentage over that span). Essentially, between 2001 and 2006, the Lions could be expected to lose every road game and win only half their home games.

With respect to Millen's actual moves as a GM, there's a lot of focus on the first round draft picks, but there were huge problems in other areas, too: coaching, free agency and the later rounds of the draft.

Coaching

Neither Mornhinweg nor Mariucci (not to mention Martz) fit the hard-nosed style that one presumes Millen would have preferred as a former linebacker. Jauron and Marinelli were better fits, but Marinelli hadn't been a head coach and Jauron was only in the job for five games.

Free Agency

A brief list of free agents signed by the Lions under Millen:

Az-Zahir Hakim
Bill Schroeder
Brock Marion
Fernando Bryant
Kenoy Kennedy
Olandis Gary
Shaun Bryson
Mikheal Ricks
Bracy Walker
Tatum Bell
Rick DeMulling
Tai Streets
Reggie Swinton
Josh McCown

Later rounds of the draft

Ostensibly, the Lions could have selected the latter, though they opted for the former in each case (found this elsewhere online, though I can't remember where):

Kalimba Edwards over Clinton Portis
Teddy Lehman over Bob Sanders
Mike Williams over Sean Merriman
Joey Harrington over Dwight Freeney
Charles Rogers over Andre Johnson
Andre Goodman over Brian Westbrook
Shaun Cody over Lofa Tatupu
Boss Bailey over Osi Umenyiora
Daniel Bullocks over Marcus McNeil
Jeff Backus over Nate Clements

In the 1990's, at least there were highlights (Barry, Herman, Johnnie Morton, Bennie Blades) and lowlights (Mike Utley, Reggie Brown, Scott Mitchell), but even if the team wasn't competing for a playoff spot, they may have had a shot to spoil another team's season and would put up a fight on Thanksgiving (6-2 in the eight years prior to Millen). In the subsequent six years, they've gone 1-6 on Turkey Day and even lost to Joey Harrington (!) in 2006.