Detroit to Mariucci: You're Fiiiiiiiiired!
I don't really agree with this one. My problems are threefold. First, I don't see how two full years is enough to right a sinking ship. Detroit was in awful shape when Mariucci arrived. He's a good coach. I think you need more than that period to turn things around. That's frequently how it works with coaches, with Dick Vermeil in St. Louis and Kansas City immediately coming to mind. Second, I think more blame lies on the personnel decisions. As a Redskins fan, I root for Matt Millen to succeed, but he's made some very questionable decisions, both via free agency (Az-Zahir Hakim) and draft (WR after WR after WR). I just don't think they are that talented, and Joey Harrington has really stunted the growth of the franchise. Third, firing a coach in the middle of a season is always stupid, short of some sort of gigantic mutiny. It's tough for the new coach to establish the style of play he wants (even if he's a member of the previous staff), and there becomes a power vacuum where discipline is questionable and motivation is even more questionable. I don't understand why you don't at least let the coach finish the season, particularly when you owe him eight figures over the course of the rest of the contract. I'm not saying Mariucci is working in Detroit. But scapegoating him in the middle of a season to me is a very questionable move.
posted by Todd Martin at 5:57 PM
6 Comments:
Good comments on Mooch. I think Detroit has more problems than just who their coach is for the current season. Harrington isn't the answer. Garcia isn't either. Dan O. might be, but who knows...
Build the line. Improve the D. Go from there.
First off, I'm a fan of the Raw reviews. I'm a Lions fan that lives in Detroit, so I have personally suffered through this. I'm not going to take the blame off Millen for this, because I think a large chunk of the situation is his fault. He knew what kind of system Mooch ran, yet refused to get the right players (through draft or free agency) to be effective in that system. Flat out thats the overall issue. However, Mooch should also shoulder a large percentage of the blame, and thus is why I have no issue with his firing. First off, he has totally lost his locker room. After that fiasco on Thanksgiving, listening to post game comments on the radio post-game, they had all but given up. Dre Bly, one of the few bright spots on the team pretty much said he was done with team goals, and was focusing on personal goals. Thats grounds for firing right there. Number 2, his mis-use of players. Kevin Jones is a talented back. So why is he only getting 10-12 touches while Shawn Bryson and Artuse Pinner are getting 6-10 each? There should be no committee approach when you have a back that did what he did and has proven he can do it again. On Thanksgiving he opened with like a 20 yard run, and then got like 5 touches after that. I won't even start on the whole QB problem. All I have to say is that Millen wanted Brad Johnson here, Mooch insisted on Jeff Garcia. Notice a difference in whats going on with those two players? I'm ready for a full flush, and a new system to be run here that takes better advantage of the down field threats 3 first round recievers pose, and someone that will let Kevin Jones get his touches. Of course an offensive line would go a long way too ....
Nice work as usual, Todd.
It's funny to me how the Detroit Lions seem to be about the only thing in sports and entertainment more illogical than the creative "direction" of WWE.
On that note, did you notice Daivari speaking fluent English in the backstage scene with Angle last night? I realize he can in real life, but wasn't that a first in WWE television land? I may be wrong.
Never been a fan of the mid-season firing, as it usually just leads to the team being worse off than before. And I don't agree with this firing in particular. I mean, I think Mooch was 60-46 (career) on the Niners, so he can win, but Millen really needs to die. Can't stand that guy, and the franchise will be in shabbles for a few years after this as well.
Daivari has frequently mixed in English with the Farsi, but that may have been the first time he just went with straight English in that way.
I've been wondering why the Lions give Bryson so many carries for a while now. I figured I was just missing something.
Millen is an ass.....but in his defense,once he saw the offense wasn't working,he told Mooch to change it. Joey is a drop back QB and will be a good one once he gets his confidence back. Mooch was just to stubborn to change and thats why he got the boot. And I agree about Jones......he needs to be THE man ,get him 20-25 carries a game.
The D isn't half bad,the offensive line sucks. And Tollner as a OC? Puh-leeeze...
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