Apparently, It's Not All Matt Millen's Fault (Next Stop, MNF ... Maybe)

While we were all busy taking gratuitous perfectly deserving shots at Matt Millen and his eight-year reign of terror in Detroit as he pursues other professional endeavors, the Free Press' Drew Sharp would like to make a point about everyone's preoccupation with the former Lions president:

It's because we need somebody to scream at, and the primary source of our anger -- Lions owner William Clay Ford Sr. -- remains in seclusion. If you can't gripe at the one doing the hiring, you're left with those he hired.

If Ford would show his face, answer pointed questions from reporters and fully accept his accountability for this enduring football disaster, Detroit quickly would divorce itself emotionally from Millen. But Ford doesn't possess the required backbone.

I don't think anyone's willing to absolve Ford of blame, but he's not the guy responsible for a wide receivers-only first-round draft strategy, not to mention forcing Joey Harrington on a coaching staff convinced there were more important needs on the roster.

Yeah, I know, Ford hired him. But the Hunts hired Carl Peterson and Randy Lerner was responsible for Phil Savage. Neither guy approached Millen-level incompetence but both were fan-favorite punching bags by the time they left their respective organizations. Here's the thing, though: this all goes away if the Chiefs and Browns are able to quickly turn things around.

Same holds for the Lions. In the meantime, I fully support the NFL's most downtrodden fan base and their decision to harangue anybody remotely associated with the Lions' current predicament.

Sharp also throws this out there, almost as an afterthought: "There's speculation that Millen might earn a seat in the ESPN "Monday Night Football" booth next season."

Wait, what?

My first thought: God, I hope he replaces Tony Kornheiser. My second thought: You know, Millen would actually be pretty good in that role. I fully understand most fans' inability to separate Millen: the Worst GM in the History of Civilization from Millen: a Pretty Good Teevee Analyst. But save a backstory that includes "former member of Taliban," isn't he an upgrade over Mr. Tony? (Cue "soft bigotry of low expectations" rant.)