The 0-16 Lions have officially done it. This is 0for08, FanHouse's eye on the Detroit Lions and their quest for a winless season.
It had to end this way.
That is, to say, if this is actually the end.
The Lions are addicted to bad football. I've tried coming up with a justification for so many years of substandard play as well as faulty personnel moves on and off the field, and I've come to the conclusion that they're simply addicts. It doesn't make them bad people, it simply means that they've embraced what we deem destructive as suitable to their way of life. They are a gigantic failure of an organization comprised of hundreds of individual enablers.
This isn't to trivialize or poke fun at addictions of a much more serious nature -- addictions come in all shapes and sizes, from manageable to fatal, from heroin to Starbucks. This is a unique variety, and the Lions are deep in it. Those close to the team, as is always the case with addiction, have suffered the most, and they've tried all they could -- walkouts, websites, effigies -- to pull the Lions out of their hole. But the thing about addicts is that they have to recognize their problem, and that only usually comes when they've bottomed out, when they've fallen so far that they have to choose to embrace recovery.
As the first team to finish a season 0-16, it seems obvious that this Lions era has officially bottomed out. But do they think so?
Detroit Lions Timeline of Futility
When: Dec. 28, 2008 | What Happened: Detroit does the unthinkable, completing the first 0-16 season in NFL history with a 31-21 loss at Green Bay. Click through to see how the Lions have collapsed over the past decade.
Morry Gash, AP
When: July 1999 | What Happened: Just days before training camp opened, Barry Sanders - arguably the greatest player in Lions history - abruptly announced his retirement. The shocking announcement came just two years after Sanders rushed for more than 2,000 yards in the 1998 season and left Detroit reeling.
Jeff Kowalsky, AFP / Getty Images
When: Nov. 5, 2000 | What Happened: Bobby Ross, who coached Detroit to two playoff berths, announced his resignation after Week 10. The Lions were 5-4 at the time, then missed the playoffs under interim coach Gary Moeller when Chicago hit a last-second, game-winning field goal in Week 17
Tom Pidgeon, Getty Images
When: 2001 Offseason | What Happened: The Lions hired Matt Millen, right, and Marty Mornhinweg as team president and head coach, respectively. The two then orchestrated a 5-27 record in two years - including the start of an NFL record 24-game road losing streak - before Mornhinweg was fired.
Paul Sancya, AP
When: 2002 NFL Draft | What Happened: Following a miserable 2-14 2001 season, the Lions used the No. 3 pick to select quarterback Joey Harrington out of Oregon. Dubbed as a franchise savior, Harrington never produced a winning record in four seasons with Detroit.
Paul Warner, AP
When: Feb. 4, 2003 | What Happened: With the Mornhinweg mess in the past (who can forget the "We'll take the wind" overtime loss in Chicago?), the Lions turned to Michigan native Steve Mariucci as their new head coach. An exciting hire quickly soured for both Mariucci and Detroit.
Tom Pidgeon, Getty Images
When: 2003 and 2005 NFL Draft | What Happened: Matt Millen and the Lions turned their draft choices into a running gag. 2003 No. 2 pick Charles Rogers (left) broke his collarbone twice and is now out of the NFL. 2005 No. 10 pick Mike Williams showed up to his first training camp overweight and turned into a colossal bust.
Getty Images
When: Nov. 28, 2005 | What Happened: The marriage between Mariucci and the Lions became another short-lived debacle. The Lions finished a combined 11-24 in Mooch's first two seasons, then started 4-7 in 2005 before the team moved in another direction - again.
Ronald Martinez, Getty Images
When: Jan. 19, 2006 | What Happened: Millen's last major hire with the Lions came when he named Rod Marinelli head coach. Marinelli's future is up in the air, but Millen was finally fired during the 2008 season after a 31-84 overall record during his tenure.
Carlos Osorio, AP
When: May 12, 2006 | What Happened: The first big move in the Marinelli regime came when Detroit unloaded Joey Harrington, trading him to Miami for a sixth-round draft pick.
Rick Stewart, Getty Images
The fact that owner William Clay Ford intends to keep interim general manager Martin Mayhew and COO Tom Lewand, Matt Millen's old right-hand men and the "braintrust" of the organization since Millen's firing, at the top of the hierarchy seems to indicate that the answer is "no." While Rod Marinelli has been fired, he is just a personification of the problem. The only way to fix this organization is to tear it down, and that starts (and almost ends) with the team's decision-makers at the top.
That this isn't apparently an option is the sign of continued denial, not newfound acceptance.
And so the Lions will continue to toil away. They'll continue to promise that they've changed (firing Marinelli, drafting a shiny new toy with their first-overall pick), before stealing your television and pawning it off on the boardwalk for some quick cash. There will be a holding pattern of false hope and disillusionment. There's another drastic move made by those who love an addict when it becomes obvious that they refuse to help themselves -- an intervention. At this point, it seems the only way the Lions will approach genuine change in William Clay Ford's lifetime. While Ford may sadly not be long for this world, and his son appears to have at least some semblance of common sense about the state of the franchise, the long-suffering beloveds of this franchise shouldn't have to suffer another day pining for a brighter tomorrow.
Roger Goodell has already set a precedent for getting involved in the otherwise in-house matters of another team when he interjected himself into the Jets-Favre-Packers triangle last summer. He did that because he saw a situation that was threatening the integrity of both franchises, one of its most famous players, and the league itself. This situation also threatens the integrity of a franchise (one with a valuable commodity the league has an interest in protecting, in Detroit's annual Thanksgiving game) and the league. The Lions have transcended sports and become a pop culture punchline at large, and it's not good for anyone for the league to have, ostensibly, 31 franchises.
Goodell can't force anything on the Lions, but he can add his weighty opinion and strongarm the team into doing the right thing for the fanbase which has resisted an atrophied economy to continuously (until very recently, that is) show up to support a team that constantly disappoints it. But there's not much give left. If something isn't done soon to remedy the Lions, the addiction will count the Lions, a piece of the league, and the city of Detroit as its ultimate victims.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-29-2008 @ 10:05AM
Craig said...
On the other side of this coin is a similar addict called "the Lion fan", every bit the addict and as you have pointed out addicts can't change until they rock bottom and admit the addiction...so as a Detroiter and a Lions-observer I'd ask those die-hard Lions fans...will you maintain the loyalty?
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12-29-2008 @ 6:27PM
Mat said...
I'll continue to be a fan, but they won't get a nickel of my money until there's a significant change of some sort, ie Ford sells the team, hands over the reins to his son or seeks some sort of outside talent to help him completely remake the front-office.
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12-29-2008 @ 9:31PM
Steel Wheel said...
I just saw on ESPN ticker that they have received permission to talk to Jason Garrett. Not sure if that is the right direction. I also see that Lewand and Mayhew have been promoted so the Parcells prayers can cease. I'll say this about Lewand and Mayhew, they pulled off one hell of a trade with Dallas. Roy is a good receiver but his personality leaves a bit to be desired. Players like Calvin Johnson have a great work ethic and a committment to keep working despite being on a horrible team...draft more Calvins and you'll see a turnaround for sure.
BTW, my suggestion for a coach would be Marty Schottenheimer...they guy flat out turns programs around.
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12-29-2008 @ 11:35PM
Calvin said...
"Draft more Calvins and you'll see a turnaround..."
As in what, Michael Crabtree? Or do you mean once-in-a-decade prospects that also happen to have a professional attitude? Because there are 31 other teams who want those guys.
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12-30-2008 @ 10:31AM
Craig said...
I certainly don't mean another receiver despite Crabtree's impressive talent. And I understand your exaggerated description of "once-in-a-decade" but there are plenty of players that have the same formula as CJ. The Lions have had them in the organization(Chris Speilman, Barry Sanders, and Herman Moore) they just fail to keep infusing the franchise with many of them. Couple that with a coach that can keep the focus illuminated and a management team that can evaluate "good character" there could be a turnaround.
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12-31-2008 @ 3:37PM
Mike O neil said...
I just heard Mike Shanahan was fired today by the Broncos. If The Lions had any semblance of a brain they'd be on the phone to him with a blank check in hand, as you are reading this. But we all know that coaches like: BillCower, Bill Parcells, Or Shanahan don't come here. They know coaching careers come here to DIE! Seen "Mooch" coaching lately? (Not that he has to work considering the Lions were still paying him $5 million dollars 3 years later to sit at home). He's gunshy to coach again! Who would't be? I so agree with this article in so many ways. Unfortunately the Lions will suck until Bill Ford Sr is gone. Keeping Mayhew and Lewand proves he absolutely has no clue whatsoever. My fear is Lewand may be another Russ Thomas. And Mayhew a 2nd comming of Matt Millen. Id be shaking in my shoes right now if I were a talented highly ranked college wide reciever entering the NFL draft! All those young gun QB's Like McCoy, Bradford, and the like. I have 3 words for you. STAY IN SCHOOL! Get drafted by a real pro franchise that will build around you! YOU DONT WANNA BE A LION! Yes, the money will be nice, you'll recieve your weight in gold... but in 2-3 years your confidence will be shot, you body beaten and battered (because they wont draft an offensive line to protect you and you'll have no time to pass) and noone will take you seriously as a pro QB. Ask Joey Harrington, Andre Ware, Rodney Peete, Charlie Batch and Chuck Long. I truly belive the Lions will go 0-16 again in the future. We will all be having this conversation in 3-5 years after Bill Ford Sr. Once again has because of his own ineptness, decides to fire everyone and start over.....again.
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12-30-2008 @ 10:41PM
Dustin said...
I have started my campaign to become the next coach in the NFL. I believe that a WINNING ATTITUDE MUST BE DEVELOPED IMMEDIATLY.
Please visit my website www.16wins.net for more info...
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12-31-2008 @ 5:00PM
ed said...
As long as Lion fans go to the home games nothing will change. W.C. Ford will continue to put crap on the field as he has over the last 15-20, 25 years maybe more. A failed franchise during my lifetime for sure. If it were a viable product and not a football team no one would make the purchase. Go back to a faling Motor Car Company and let someone else bail out the Lions and their fans. All the Fords should be ashamed to even call this team a professional sports team.
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1-05-2009 @ 2:44AM
Charlie said...
I grew up in Detroit, moved away after college, and have watched the Lions as a losing team for nearly 50 years. People of MoTown -- How much more evidence does a city and state need to see before it says "enough is enough"!? How much more embarrassment are you willing to endure? Have you no pride left at all? Citizens of Detroit, wake up and simply demand that your city council adopt a measure that will strip the Lions of their city affiliation within two years, unless they post a winning record by 2011. Fight back and boot the Fords out, at least in using your name for the team. What do you really have to lose after decades of nothing but failure and embarrassment?
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