Matt Millen Follows Isiah Thomas As Most Overdue Firing
Matt Millen was on an island, and only William Clay Ford was there with him.
No one else in the world thought he should be working. Now Ford has caught up with the rest of us—is this why the motor company is in this much distress? Are they as far behind in the industry as they are with the NFL?
I used to talk about how there were four high visibility executives who must have gotten together to talk about how they managed to keep their jobs despite their extreme and repeated incompetence. One of these personalities will lose his job in less than 17 weeks, but I will resist the urge to go into politics and focus on the three who are in sports.
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Isiah Thomas was the first to go last spring. (By the way, Zeke's parents—I won't call him Ike, as that would be an insult to Dwight David Eisenhower, one of this nation's four best presidents ever—it's supposed to be Isaiah. What you have spelled would be pronounced Eye-ZYE-uh. Maybe this doomed him to failure, but then that wasn't the case for Dwy-ane "should be Dwayne" Wade—he's a champ! But I digress.)
Thomas not only took the Knicks from contenders to pretenders to the laughingstock of sports in his tenure, he did it with the largest payroll in the league. He did it by going after low character players (why did he want Stephon Marbury and Eddie Curry anyway?) and by undermining one of the best (albeit least loyal) coaches in the game, Larry Brown.
Worse, he saddled the organization with Brown's buyout and coached the team just well enough to be in contention and get a contract extension. As soon as he got it, the entire squad quit, fell out of contention and finished with one of the worst records in the league.
He proceeded to find a way to bring them even lower the next year, with public squabbles of historic proportions with historic malcontents. Then he saddled the team with a multi-million dollar sexual harassment settlement for good measure.
Now Matt Millen has been fired after the team has gone 31-84 (.270) under his "leadership." Even FEMA would have fired him years ago.
I will briefly make a case for him not being as incompetent as Thomas. For one thing, unlike Zeke, he could not spend above the cap. He also did inherit the team just after it lost its biggest star ever, Barry Sanders.
The Lions also had to contend with the Packers, Vikings, and Bears in their division, plus Tampa Bay in the first year of his tenure (9-7). All had winning records in the division coming into this year, with a composite record of 195-157 (.554).
But then they all got to play the Lions twice a year, and that accounts for most of their being in the black. For instance, only the Packers consistently achieved winning seasons in that seven-year span (five, plus one 8-8); the Bears and Vikings had just three (Minnesota finished 8-8 twice).
And remember, he inherited a team that finished 9-7. Even losing Sanders does not justify such a precipitous and extended fall. Under Millen, this team has been known for its lack of defense, a lack of running game, and lack of a quarterback.
It seemed that every year he drafted a wide receiver in the first round, but only once drafted a quarterback to get them the ball. Make no mistake: Drafting Joey Harrington is not something Millen should be faulted for; failing to put him in a position to succeed is.
It is something that Lions fans will not have to be stigmatized with any longer. As a Packers fan, I am very disappointed. As a football fan, the league will be better for this.
Unfortunately, as a hockey fan, I doubt Gary Bettman will be soon to follow. If you need reasons why he is the third sports executive in this club, you will find some in this link:
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