Detroit Sports Blog: The Lions Need to Turn the Page
Okay, I admit that when the Lions were 6-2, I over valued their season. Words like “playoffs” were written on this very blog because I saw progress and a change of fortune. All this seems very distant, however, after six losses in a row. Now that the Lions are officially out of the playoffs, it is fair to ask the magic question: what now? Since Matt Millen has taken over, this is the question every season. How does a team start so well and just collapse? The answer lies in a few places.
First of all, the competition at the beginning of the season was weak. Beating the Raiders and the Bears hardly constituted world-altering victories. While the victory over the Vikings was promising, it took turnovers and all the home ground the Lions could muster.
The real failure of the season started with the draft. Calvin Johnson is a wonderful talent and deserved to be taken second in the draft, just not by the Lions. The Lions do not possess the deep-passing game to enhance his skill set. Johnson’s impact on the Lions’ season has been limited, except for the great end around against the Vikings much earlier in the season. The correct pick would have been Joe Thomas out of Wisconsin. The Lions could have traded down a pick and gotten Thomas to improve the offensive line. Just look how good the offensive line has been for the Browns.
Let’s face it, Matt Millen’s draft picks have been awful. He simply doesn’t appreciate the non-skilled position player and relies entirely on his “playmaker” strategy. In business, however, you hire the right candidate for the position and the needs of the company. You don’t hire a renowned engineer when the company is short on sales staff. The same is true for the NFL. The last thing the Lions needed was another wide receiver. Poor Jon Kitna would be a better quarterback if he wasn’t running for his life on 3rd and 6.
Once again, Lions fans are left to wait for another NFL draft to fan their hopes. Of course, we’ll be wooed by promises from Lions management about “playmakers” and “turning the team around.” We might even buy it for no other reason than hope is eternal, but if the Lions want to make real progress, it might be time to let go of Matt Millen and make some real changes.
December 13th, 2007
Detroit Sports Blog: The Nick Saban Factor
Recent coaching events have left me disgusted with the business of football. Bobby Petrino leaves the Atlanta Falcons in the dark of night for Arkansas. Les Miles is cornered by Louisiana State and given 3.3 million reasons not to leave for the Michigan job. Houston Nutt is reported fired by Arkansas, but we later find out he left in the dead of night for Old Miss.
The college coaching carrousel has become ridiculous. The contract that a coach signs is as good as toilet paper a year after it is executed. Universities are being betrayed and betraying each other, all in the name of creating a winning program.
What gives?
Well, it all started a few years ago with Nick Saban. At the time, he was with Michigan State, building it into a solid program. Unfortunately for the Spartans, however, Louisiana State came calling and faster than you can say “double the money” off Saban went.
Saban was successful at Louisiana, eventually leading them to a national title win. The win, however, triggered a clause in Saban’s contract that entitled him to $1.00 more than the highest paid coach that year, Bob Stoops at Oklahoma. Louisiana State administrators didn’t blink but chose to honor the contract and give Saban over $2 million. What does the honorable Nick Saban do in return? He leaves a year later for more money with the National Football League’s Miami Dolphins.
The saga continued two years later. After denying rumors that he was leaving the Dolphins, Saban took a job with the University of Alabama. The fallout for Miami was a historically awful season (0-13). Worse yet, however, was the effect Saban’s team hopping had on football: it laid a blueprint for coaches for the next two years.
Football coaches expect a lot from their players. The training for the season is grueling with twice a day practices in the heat of summer. Injuries and playing with pain are part of the game, especially on the professional level. A coach asks his players to buy into this system, trust him and be dedicated to the team. The new era of coaches, however, show no integrity worth such dedication.
They coaches come into a high school prospect’s living room and pretend to care about the kid they are recruiting, but the truth is they just want to win and make the most money possible. If they get a better offer, their own commitment to the program is as worthless as the contract they signed to insure it.
The University of Michigan should set an example to the rest of the college community and stop the carpetbaggers from robbing the school of money and pride. They should show that the integrity of University of Michigan athletics means something. Forget about Les Miles for the job. Let him actually honor his commitment at Louisiana State and be truthful about staying with the program. Instead, Michigan should give a Division II or III coach a chance -- it worked for Ohio State.
Some suggestions:
- Make the coaches honor their contract.
- The National Football League should stop hiring college coaches. Steve Spurier, Butch Davis, Dennis Erickson, Nick Saban and Bobby Petrino prove the point -- Jimmy Johnson was the exception, not the rule.
- Universities should stop stealing coaches under contract. They should stand for something besides trying to win football games.
- If the coach leaves, college athletes should be allowed to leave the program without sitting out a year.
