Cowardly Lions

Detroit better land Mariucci or it looks even more foolish

I have tried not to fall into the easy and gratuitous habit of bashing Lions president/CEO Matt Millen for bashing's sake, but what in the name of William Clay Ford is going on in Detroit?

If Millen and the Lions had fired head coach Marty Mornhinweg in the days following their 3-13 season, it would have made sense. Had they done it in the immediate aftermath of Steve Mariucci's firing in San Francisco -- a move that I, as well as many others, had speculated might happen -- it would have been understandable.

Millen and the Lions could have said, "Sorry, Marty, but the world changed since we last addressed your job security. Our top candidate all along just came free, and we feel compelled to act."

But to give Mornhinweg a one-year reprieve in late December and then whack him two weeks after Mariucci was let go, seemingly when Mornhinweg's future was no longer an issue, is the very definition of bungling an execution.

I didn't think it was possible, but Millen accomplished the feat of turning Mornhinweg -- with his 5-27 career record -- into a sympathetic figure.

As one NFL head coach I talked to Tuesday said: "I have never been more embarrassed to be a part of our profession than I was when I heard about how this one was handled. To let a guy sit there for a month, and even have him hire some new assistants, and then you lower the boom? That stinks.

"It makes it look like nobody knows what they're doing in Detroit. And if things are already in place for Mariucci, how about him doing that to his good friend, Mornhinweg? They go back a ways. That's kind of cold."

I can't decide which scenario Millen looks worse in when it comes to the Lions' head coaching job: If he disingenuously had a deal cooked with Mariucci before giving Mornhinweg the belated boot, like everyone presumes, or if he unwisely didn't and acted without knowing how a coaching search might turn out?

Either way, once again Millen hasn't bathed himself in glory, especially after his messy, scapegoat firing of director of player personnel Bill Tobin in December, two days before the team's regular-season finale.

If Detroit lands Mariucci, the Michigan native, and Mooch quickly gets them to respectability in 2003, next year at this time we might be nominating Millen for the first annual Glazer Brothers award -- for the most screwed-up coaching search that still worked out.

But if the Lions aren't anywhere near as fortunate as Tampa Bay was, and Mariucci doesn't end up on Detroit's sideline, Millen is going to have some serious 'splaining to do.

The smart money continues to point toward Mariucci. That's why Dennis Green declined to interview as a minority candidate, even though the Lions' job is one he covets. Millen simply couldn't convince Green's agent that the opening wasn't created for one man and one man only: Mariucci.

And Green's agent, Gary O'Hagan, ought to be in the position to know, since he represents Mariucci as well. Just this past Friday night in San Diego, Green and Mariucci were seen hanging out together in the city's Gaslamp Quarter, on their way to the annual Super Bowl party thrown by IMG, the company O'Hagan works for.

You think maybe the Lions' job -- which hadn't even officially opened yet -- came up over drinks and hors d'oeuvres?

Though they need to find only one, other minority candidates could follow Green's lead, making it difficult for Millen to comply with the league's new interview guidelines and eventually hire Mariucci. Said one league source on Wednesday: "I'd be surprised if they got any other credible minority candidate to interview for that job until Mariucci definitely takes himself out of the running. Until that happens, everyone thinks any interview would be a sham."

Here's one way around that problem for the Lions: They interview offensive coordinator Sherman Lewis for the job, making him their in-house candidate. Lewis this month was elevated to offensive coordinator by Mornhinweg, after Detroit let Maurice Carthon join Bill Parcells in Dallas.

The choice for Lewis might be something like this: Either interview for the head coaching job or risk being swept out the door if somebody other than Mariucci is hired. Given that Lewis and Mariucci worked together on Mike Holmgren's staff in Green Bay, Mariucci no doubt can live with Lewis as his offensive coordinator. Lewis can't say that for sure if anybody other than Mooch gets the job.

There is talk within the league that Detroit's two-week gap between Mariucci's firing and moving on Mornhinweg can be explained rather easily. Millen wanted to fire Mornhinweg right away after his old friend Mariucci became available, sources said, but team owner Ford did not. Especially since he would have to execute the public flip-flop that it required, given that he had announced Mornhinweg would get a third season in 2003.

Thus, it took Millen those two weeks to wear Ford down and convince him he could deliver Mariucci, no ifs, ands or buts. If that scenario is true, the whole maneuver was somewhat dangerous for Millen. If for some reason he can't land Mariucci, league sources say Millen's job could be in immediate jeopardy. By sticking with Mornhinweg, Millen at least would have been assured a third season in Detroit.

If Mariucci hasn't previously agreed tacitly to take the Lions' job and Millen can't close the deal, things will really get interesting. My guess is that the next Lions head coach would be Green, who's probably lying in the weeds watching to see what happens in Detroit.

If he loses Mooch, Millen could probably save his job only by quickly landing another candidate whose track record speaks for itself. Having gone the Mornhinweg route the last time, the Lions couldn't afford to get into the young and talented, but unproven head-coaching market that Mike Mularkey or Brad Childress would represent.

Green, with his eight playoff trips in 10 NFL seasons and depth of experience in the Lions' division, would be well positioned to become the front-runner. Millen, by then desperate for any credibility, would have little choice but to throw his weight behind the most credible candidate -- especially when Green also is the league's top minority candidate.

My guess is that's a scenario Millen doesn't want to see unfold. He's hoping that Detroit's M&M boys will still be the moniker in 2003, with Millen and Mariucci subbing for Millen and Mornhinweg.

He'll probably get his wish. But with Millen and his Lions, we've learned that assumptions get you nowhere.

 

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