Month: January 2009 (Page 52 of 61)

If you tuned into the NBC pregame show on Saturday, you would have seen a Matt Millen interview. Yes, the Matt Millen who steered the Detroit Lions to a 31-84 record — 31-97 if you count the losses after his dismissal. Dan Patrick asked him a few questions and he took the blame for the team’s performance. He didn’t go into much detail or offer any specifics, so it was kind of a waste of time. He simply looked like a guy who was trying to rehab his image. He knows that a job as an executive in the NFL is probably out of the question, but he could return as an analyst, which is kind of a joke in itself, considering that a big part of a GM’s job is analyzing players and coaches. Really, why should we listen to anything this guy has to say?

Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press had a few pointed comments about Millen’s appearance…

But when he broke his public silence Saturday during the network’s “Football Night in America” show, he told NBC’s Dan Patrick that it wasn’t as easy as merely blaming himself.

“There’s a lot more to it than that,” Millen told Patrick. “I could give you excuses. I could give you reasons. To me, that’s just an excuse after the fact. You take the hit and move on.”

Millen blew it again. Detroit deserves a detailed explanation for what went so horribly wrong from those who perpetrated the deed. Simply saying that you’re responsible for the disaster doesn’t make you accountable. That requires serving a penance. If Millen truly seeks atonement, he must delve deeper into those additional “reasons” of which he spoke.

Was there a lack of uniformity between Millen and his front office, Millen and his coaches? Was there an even greater lack of organizational confidence within the locker room than what already has been documented? Did ownership interfere even more than what already has been reported?

I’m really tired of the Lions’ “There’s nothing more to say” defense regarding past failures.

I have an idea — Millen should write a book. Imagine this: an insider’s account of the worst franchise in the NFL. He could go into detail about every bad (and good) decision that he made, along with the conflicts he had with players, coaches and ownership. I, for one, find the whole GM game fascinating and would love to read a tell-all about the Lions. It would be a moneymaker for Millen (not that he really needs the dough) and would be cathartic for Lions fans everywhere.

But to promote a book, he’d eventually have to appear in front of (real) members of the media. Patrick probably had his hands tied (and for that, NBC is to blame), but Sharp is right — Millen went into zero detail about what went wrong.

One of Sharp’s lines really stands out…

Simply saying that you’re responsible for the disaster doesn’t make you accountable.

Truer words have never been spoken. The fans in Detroit deserve an explanation — a real one.

Here’s the interview…