The Detroit Lions have fired offensive coordinator Mike Martz and promoted offensive line coach Jim Colleto and wide receivers coach Kippy Brown to run the offense in his place, a source in the organization told ESPN's Chris Mortensen.
Martz had a big hand in turning Jon Kitna, of all people, into a Pro Bowl QB. He definitely earned his paycheck. Matt Millen isn't getting smarter. He was just looking for a scapegoat.
Someone needs to be pointing fingers at whoever's running that defense, which gave up 34 to Green Bay, 51 to San Diego, and 42 to Minnesota.
(edited by It's False on 2.1.08 1452)
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Ladies and gentlemen, the following public service message is brought to you by your friends from D-Generation X, who would like to remind each and every one of you that if you're not down with that, we've got two words for you... Totally agreed with It's False - this is a real dumb move by Millen, but then, that's totally in keeping with his track record in Detroit. So much of Detroit's "success" under Marinelli has been the result of Martz willing his offensive skill players to wins in spite of his horrid O-line (just look at the number of sacks the Lions give up) and the aforementioned terrible defense. It smells of Millen wanting a scapegoat for the second-half collapse, and as usual, he chose the wrong guy just because the two of them don't get along.
Detroit needs to stop drafting star WRs and start building a foundation - tackles, guards, ends, linebackers, defensive backs - by which those star WRs and other skill players can build on. That's why drafting Calvin Johnson last year was a terrible move for them.
They also need to fire Millen, but that goes without saying at this point.
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Yeah, stupid, stupid move. I realize Martz doesn't play well with others so maybe that's why but his results were solid. There are several other teams that would be smart to hire him quickly as their offensive coordinator, Baltimore being an obvious one.
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Originally posted by wmatisticYeah, stupid, stupid move. I realize Martz doesn't play well with others so maybe that's why but his results were solid. There are several other teams that would be smart to hire him quickly as their offensive coordinator, Baltimore being an obvious one.
I'd file that under "so obvious it'd never happen".
I think the Lions got sick of Martz sounding an awful lot like the head coach during press conferences. I seem to remember him basically naming Kitna next year's starter in a press conference or interview a few weeks ago. I thought it weird that the coordinator was talking about a decision he didn't have total control over. Not that it's a huge deal, but what if the head coach and GM don't feel the same way? Then it looks bad.
The move wasn't really stupid or smart - whether or not they kept Martz, the Lions aren't going anywhere until they the solve the fundamental problems that Texas Kelly pointed out (O-line, D-line, ANY LB besides Ernie Sims). This absolutely reeked of Millen needing a scapegoat and he probably convinced Old Man Ford that this was a step in the right direction. That, and he probably keeps him heavily medicated.
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Originally posted by Reverend J ShaftThe move wasn't really stupid or smart - whether or not they kept Martz, the Lions aren't going anywhere until they the solve the fundamental problems that Texas Kelly pointed out (O-line, D-line, ANY LB besides Ernie Sims).
And to me, as bad as the defense is, the O-line is what they should focus on, because they have the skill players they need to take over games offensively if they have a line that can block worth a damn for them. They had Joe Thomas right there last year and passed on him, and if the year he had in Cleveland is any indication, he would have made a tremendous difference.
smark/net attack Advisory System Status is: Elevated (Holds; June 18, 2006) While the switch from Cena to RVD should alleviate some complaints, the inevitability of the belt's return to Cena (note where Summerslam is this year) and the poor initial showing by the new ECW are enough to keep the indicator where it is for now. The pieces are in place, though, especially on RAW, for improvements to be made to the IWC's psyche in the near future.
Martz did an OK job this year, but Matt Millen has done much dumber things, so in that respect I guess you could say he's getting smarter.
I'd go along with Texas Kelly that the O-Line is their most glaring problem. Their D could at least be made to look better than awful if they get something resembling a running game to keep them off the field for more than 2 miutes at a time
Originally posted by Mayhem Interesting to note that the ESPN article stated that Mike Nolan wants Martz for his O.C. in SF, but the higher-ups want nothing of it ...
Probably wouldn't be a bad hire at all & it might give Alex Smith that last shred of hope before he's officially declared David Carr 2.0 ...
Right now Alex Smith can only dream of rising to the dizzy levels of mediocrity achieved by David Carr.