Lions fire team president Millen after seven subpar season

Mediocre teams usually change their front office staff in hopes that they’ll make it to “the next level”. In seven seasons running the football operations of the Detroit Lions, Matt Millen did just that—only he did it in the wrong direction. Millen took over a mediocre team and turned them into a doormat. The only outrage that was heard in the wake of his dismissal on Wednesday was the questioning of why it took so long.

Millen was by any metric a great NFL player, winning 4 Superbowl championships with three different teams. A Pro Bowl level linebacker, Millen helped secure championships for the LA/Oakland Raiders, the Washington Redskins and the San Francisco 49ers. He was a very sharp guy, who quickly became a highly respected broadcaster after his playing career. A move into the front office was seen as a no-brainer when hired by the Lions in 2001. Unfortunately for Millen and the team, it was an unmitigated disaster.

Despite his struggles and open contempt shown him by the Detroit fans, Millen had supporters where it counted—the Ford family, who own the Lions and sign his checks. As late as 2005, Millen was given a contract extension by William Clay Ford, Sr. and despite a 3-13 season in 2006 was retained despite much media speculation to the contrary. Even then, team insiders suggested that the Ford family maintained that Millan was “the best GM the team had ever had”.

Outside of the executive suite in Allen Park, Michigan it was difficult to find anyone—players, fans, media, even other NFL executives—who would agree. As the on-field woes continued to mount, Millan deftly found a way to deflect blame onto the team’s coaching staff. The Lions went through three different head coaching staffs in the Millan era as evidence of this. His draft selections were another matter—the Wall Street Journal once reported that his fellow NFL executives felt, off the record of course, that Millan had “made more bad draft decisions than anyone else in two centuries.” The most glaring example of Millan’s inability to assess the talent of potential personnel is his drafting of wideouts in three consecutive years with “top 5” draft picks. None of these selections ever became “impact players”, and none have made the Pro Bowl.

The Lions’ went 31-84 in Millan’s seven seasons, with only one playoff win. They’re also 8-50 on the road since Millan took over the team in 2001. Perhaps the best thing to come out of Matt Millen’s tenure was a great quote—his candid assessment in an interview that the team’s performance under his watch was “beyond awful and worthy of having one's balls shot off.”

Though there were plenty of tangible facts to justify his removal, it was apparently dissension in the Ford family that finally led to it actually taking place. Following the Lions’ 0-3 start to the 2008 season Lions Vice Chairman and Ford Motor Company Executive Chairman William Clay Ford, Jr. said publicly that if it were up to him he’d fire Millan. His father, who did have that ability, maintained that there were no plans to remove Millan. Yet on Wednesday it was announced that he was no longer with the team, though whether he was fired or resigned is unclear.

The team is now being run by Executive vice president Tom Lewand and general manager Martin Mayhew. Lewand is in his 15th season and will almost certainly be retained. Mayhew was hired by Millan early in his tenure and his status past this season is unclear at best.