Matt Millen, the man who turned the Detroit Lions into the worst team in NFL history, has made his first public appearance since he was fired as team president in September, appearing on NBC's pregame show before today's Falcons-Cardinals game.Asked by NBC's Dan Patrick how he felt watching the team he built go 0-16, Millen said, "It was brutal, obviously. Knowing everybody up there ... watching it unfold, it was probably harder watching it from home than it was when you're up there."
Millen said he was "completely responsible" for the Lions' 0-16 record, adding, "You can say something about the coaching, you can say something about the players, but inevitably, I'm responsible for them."
When Patrick asked Millen, "Would you have fired you?" Millen answered, "Yeah, I would have."
However, Millen still sounds as though he's in denial about just how bad a roster he assembled in Detroit. He said he shouldn't have been fired until after the season, and he claimed during the discussion with Patrick that the Lions have enough talent on their roster to be winners. No one who watched the Lions this year could seriously believe that.
After discussing his time in Detroit, Millen did a short tape breakdown of the Cardinals and Falcons, in an apparent attempt to rebuild the broadcasting career he had before he took over the Lions.
But after what Millen has done in Detroit for the last eight years, it's hard to take anything he says about football seriously anymore. Instead, Millen will be perceived by TV viewers the way NBC's Bob Costas introduced him: "The Lions are not in the playoffs," Costas deadpanned, adding, "Matt put together the team that became the first in NFL season to finish a season 0-16."
That's how Millen will always be remembered.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
1-03-2009 @ 4:34PM
TheRide45 said...
You gotta be kidding me...why is this knucklehead on TV and why on earth would NBC believe his commentary is respected by anyone who knows anything about football?
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1-04-2009 @ 9:54AM
Chigrl57 said...
You can say that again! But what else can be expected of the "imitation" NBC football network. Actually, I think Chris Collingsworth, and Jerome Bettis are good. But Keith Olberman,Matt Millen and has been John Madden, and sidekick Al Michaels are waaaaay past their prime. Considering NBC is televising the Super Bowl, our football party may be cancelled!
1-03-2009 @ 4:53PM
Adam said...
In fairness, you have to account for John Kitna going down. Sure, he wasn't all that good, but he did throw for over 4k yards the last two seasons in Detroit, and I think if he was playing, 0-16 wouldn't have happened.
You can blame the front office for not having depth at QB, but neither do a lot (most?) teams, like Dallas. I bet Detroit could have won 3-5 games with Kitna.
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1-03-2009 @ 5:28PM
Detroitfan said...
Kitna only had those numbers because Mike Martz was the offensive coordinator the last too years and wouldn't have made a difference this year. The Lions real problem was their defense, the worst defense I have ever seen. The Lions stats don't do justice to how bad this defense really was. The stats say the opponent completed a 20 yard pass. They don't show that 3 receivers were wide open with no defender within 5 yards. The stats say the opposing runner gained 25 yards. They do say the Lions missed 5 tackles, 2 of them behind the line of scrimmage. It had to be seen to believe just how terrible this defense truly was.
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1-03-2009 @ 9:50PM
Steel Wheel said...
I'll support your comments Detroitfan. Kitna would NEVER have been a factor in this pathetic offense but the defense was perhaps the worst I've ever seen. It's a shame because its not like they had a bunch of rookies on the Dee-side...they signed vets like Dwight Smith, Brian Kelly and eventually Stuart Schwigert(sp?) but then they trade Rogers for Leigh Bodden...so you'd think the secondary was set. I really can't understand the ineptness of this defense. I mean Cory Redding is solid, Paris Lenon has great reactions and Ernie Mills is a pretty solid bet on every play. It's gotta be the schemes. I tend to think that the Lions had no defensive quarterback..someone to cull the emotions and adjust the line calls...I don't know. One thing i do know is listening to Millen all day there ain't one redeeming value about this tool. I hated him as a player in college, hated him as a player in the pros, hated him as an announcer and hated him as VP of the Lions. Why NBC thinks this fool has anything to offer other than Star Trek trivia is beyond me...WAKE UP NBC!!!!
1-03-2009 @ 6:09PM
Mike said...
Ditto Adam.
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1-03-2009 @ 6:24PM
Madduck said...
The blame has to go to the owner who kept Millen as long as he did. Season after season of terrible decisions which finally led to the 0-16 record. Could any of us arm chair quarterbacks done any better? Maybe not, but we couldn't have done any worse.
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1-03-2009 @ 7:52PM
dk45 said...
Take Millan's paycheck and give it back to fans, he sucks.....
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1-03-2009 @ 9:36PM
John Turner said...
I want to see Matt Millen in a NBC broadcast booth next year. I want to see him thinking what is coming out his mouth is the gospel of football. I want him to look into the stands see the signs and to hear the chants of fire Matt Millen.
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1-03-2009 @ 9:58PM
mofoca22 said...
millen may have putthe team together but god damn there are 53 players on a roster. someone shouldve stepped up but they didnt. they quit they quit when they started 0-4 that team is full of quitters. i dont hate matt millen or rod. matt millen drafted good guys it aint his fault they all fl;opped once they got there contracts signed. how many people thought joey harrignton was going to flop? i didnt i thought he was going to be great.
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1-03-2009 @ 10:29PM
Motown Missy said...
Adam, Sorry friend, but you are missing the point. Winning 3-5 games still gets you in last place. The decisions to hire and fire coaches, control player personnel and make draft choices all belonged to Millen. He is a doofus. His tenure as head of the franchise led to the worst eight-year record in the NFL (31-97) since World War II. Stats don't lie...Millen SUCKS. And what expertise is he bringing to NBC? How to waste a draft choice? How to manage an NFL franchise into the ground?
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1-04-2009 @ 12:30AM
phatmatt said...
Come on Matt Millen, the guy had complete, 100% control over the worst recorded record in NFL history and you want us to take him or your network seriously.....I immediately changed to ESPN ...Maybe you guys should go after the Chiefs ex general manager he's a real winner as well.....
It took me about 5 minutes to lend any credibility to my son when he asked why is this guy a commentator....Way to attract the new young viewers with a mediocre ex football player who's last achievement was in the 1980's. Lucky Matt ended up on some great teams with an over abundance of talent and he was a role player at best.....
Andrea Kramer would and could have more success as a GM or football operation person....Then this arrogant a_ _hole says that Norv Turner and Ron Rivera really stood out and in "His opinion" impressed him.....Come on have you seen the guys running the Lions...Millen would be impressed with Rocky and Bullwinkle.
Way to go NBC you guys screwed the pooch......
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1-05-2009 @ 1:06PM
Walt said...
Good article, Phatmatt. Millen lives in a nearby town in PA and I've heard that he's an a**hole as a neighbor as well as a GM. I was shocked to see this arrogant jerk on TV. But then again, NBC Sports is the laughing stock of TV sports shows, so I guess "birds of a feather" applies.
1-04-2009 @ 2:31AM
shadowpanther said...
its william clay fords fault for hiring millen starts from the top down as long as william clay for owns this team theyll never do anything its why they havent won a championship since 1957
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1-04-2009 @ 6:10AM
phishalot2 said...
The guy is a fool, even when he was asked if he should have been fired he got that wrong, he should have been fired 3 years ago when his obvious lack of drafting skills became apparent. The only thing Detroit fans want to see of this idiot is his head on a platter next to the owners !!!!
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1-04-2009 @ 8:50AM
jimbobnick said...
While most seem to think Millen's presence as an analyst is maddening, it has to be wondered what network thinking was that sat him on that panel. It must be the kind of rationale that William Clay Ford had that made MM the GM. To get MM to say something about the Lions should have been enough. He doesn't need to be rewarded for his inadequacies any longer--it's bad enough he's still being paid.
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1-04-2009 @ 8:59AM
jimbobnick said...
I should have added this to an earlier email: if Matt Millen is part of the Super Bowl broadcast, I will zap the sound. It's almost as if NBC has become William Clay Ford--do we have to boycott NBC (if only by muting the sound) to make a point?
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1-04-2009 @ 9:12AM
Randy said...
NBC having MM as an expert commentator is like having our new President talking about tax cuts. Give me a break! What was NBC thinking about? Between him and Keith Olbermann, we have enough incompetency to last a lifetime. NBC embarassed themselves by making MM their choice. Whoever made that decision should be fired as well. Maybe it was one of our Congressmen who made that decision, does that make sense?
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1-04-2009 @ 9:38AM
RobertWayne said...
Let's face it, Detroit has been one of the worst franchises in the NFL for decades. I started following football in the early '70s. The Detroit Lions stunk back then and haven't improved since. Barry Sanders has been about the only player they've had in the last 40 years who's done anything right.
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1-04-2009 @ 12:20PM
JTFee said...
The Detroit Lions should be included in the auto industry bailout, forcing the Fords to give up their interest in the team. Alternatively, NFL realignment should put the Lions in a division with Cincinnati, Buffalo, and Oakland. That would ensure that at least one set of suffering fans would prosper.
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