by John Ryan
After a tenure that lasted a lot longer than it should have, Matt Millen has been fired from his post as president and chief executive with the Detroit Lions. The move comes days after Bill Ford, Jr. decried for the firing and said he would have done it if he had the authority. Although it’s still unclear whether he was fired or resigned, it is believed he has indeed been fired. The Lions, 31-84 under Millen, have been resisting public outcry for Millen’s outcry for 4 seasons now, including an infamous 2003 season finale in which fans were to stage a boycott of the game. Apparently Sunday was the straw that broke the camels back in the eyes of the Lions brass. No plans for a replacement have been discussed, but PCPSPORTS.com will monitor the situation and give updates throughout the day.
In his ultra classy way (apparently his wife is just as classy), here;s what Patti Millen told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen Wednesday, “We’re fine,” Patty Millen said. “In the world’s view, this may look like failure. It’s been a hard road, football-wise, but we’ve gotten a lot of eternal blessings. We’ll move forward. I told him, ‘You’re out of football prison now’ and we have a greater purpose.”
Classy to say your out of football prison when the team should have fired him after 2003. He is classless and talent less from a front office perspective. Glad he’s back in the booth, though!
The quesion is which network picks him up and how fast will he be back in the booth.
Funny, for a guy who was good in the booth and the next star before he left to be the GM, he never spoke much if at all when he held that job.
Good point.
Side Note: Not that he’s qualified, by Tony Kornheiser of ESPN’s PTI believes that Millen is still a viable cadidate to be a GM somewhere else, and that he was put in a bad situation because of their ownership meddling. Couldn’t disagree more…..He made his bed with terrible drafts and terrible FA signings.
Another Side Note: The Philadelphia Inquirer speculated this morning that Adrian, Michingan native Tom Heckert could be considered for the job. He was close on the Falcons job last year, but later lost out to Thomas Dimitroff. Heckert signed an extension in the off-season.
The Lions also announced they will not seek a replacement until after the season, when they will presumably fire Rod Marinelli as well.
Update: Martin Mayhew, the new guy in charge of the Lions personnel was cited by Bill Polian as one of four youngsters he sees as ready to run a team. He cited his work ethic and deep understanding of personnel. Bill Polian was the architect of the Bills Super Bowl runs, the Carolina team in the mid-90′s that went to the NFC Championship team, and of course most people know him as the current GM of the Colts who drafted the likes of Bob Sanders, Edgerrin James, Joseph Addai, Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison, and some QB named Manning over Ryan Leaf.