Six days ago, the Lions finally relieved Matt Millen of his duties as General Manager and Team President after seven very long and anguishing years for the Detroit faithful.
Most in sports—myself included—started laughing at the joke years ago, the punchline lying somewhere between Charles Rogers and the 31-84 cumulative record. Yet in 2005 he received a five-year contract extension and in 2006 received a guarantee he'd be back another year after a hilariously foul 3-13 performance.
While fans in Chicago, Green Bay, and Minneapolis rejoiced in the Ford family follies—much the way the Japanese do when they see Ford's non-truck offerings each year—Lions fans were left to wonder: why is the 0.1 percent of the sports world who thinks Matt Millen is worth a damn RUNNING MY FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM?
It's not just poor business on William Clay Ford's part, nor is it relegated to the Detroit Lions, a hapless football franchise living on eternal hope that someday someone who actually understands the game will arrive in Motown.
Look at Syracuse University. The Orange have an outstanding athletic program across the board and have a solid football tradition, yet currently they serve as a doormat in the poorest excuse of a BCS conference. While Philip Fulmer and Tommy Bowden have drawn deserved ire at a major football schools, no one in Division I is more anemic than Syracuse Head Coach Greg Robinson.
Since arriving at Syracuse in 2004, Robinson has led his squad to an 8-32 record. That's sub-Willingham. And it isn't like the previous regime left the cupboard entirely bare, either; Syracuse had actually gone to a bowl game the year prior.
Robinson has been an unmitigated disaster, and his recruiting for 2009? Nonexistent. Why does he still have a job? Why is Syracuse making their legions of followers sit in agony and wait until the inevitable postseason chopping block? What does this accomplish? A false impression of loyalty? The chance to let him coach his own players?
Frankly, most players would rather be associated with the ground floor of a winning program than the remains of a lost one.
In such a tense sports environment, it boggles the mind that administrators and owners allow obviously losing coaches continued, hopeless opportunity while resisting the urge to pull the trigger and install new blood, often even offering below-average figures ridiculous and unwarranted extensions (college football fans see Ferentz, Kirk).
Executives really should look at national opinion before offering a contract extension. Often the outside provides a perspective the biases of the insiders drive from sight. Currently we're facing an economic meltdown where seven major banks have crashed due to bad contracts and it appears the world of sports is no different in its short-sightedness.
And that brings me to today's news that the Yankees have resigned Brian Cashman as their General Manager until 2011. As a person who can't stand the Yankees, I couldn't be happier.
Brian Cashman sucks as a GM. There, I said it.
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