American Football: Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions opted for defence in the second round, selecting Georgia linebacker Boss Bailey with the 34th pick.

Bailey had a solid final collegiate season, collecting 114 tackles as well as nine and a half sacks.

look for us to win an astonishing 7 games this year lol

Originally posted by Osobad28
look for us to win an astonishing 7 games this year lol

Osobad they aint as bad as that are they???

Originally posted by TRD

Originally posted by Osobad28
look for us to win an astonishing 7 games this year lol

Osobad they aint as bad as that are they???

Well, they won 3 last year!

They won 3 was that a record for them...

Originally posted by TRD

Originally posted by Osobad28
look for us to win an astonishing 7 games this year lol

Osobad they aint as bad as that are they???

of course not.

...they're worse than that!

Originally posted by MorningtonCrescent

Originally posted by TRD

Originally posted by Osobad28
look for us to win an astonishing 7 games this year lol

Osobad they aint as bad as that are they???

of course not.

...they're worse than that!

come on MC! You gotta at least attempt to root for us...and yes they are that bad..but I will give them 10 years and they will be a good team!

Osobad 10 yrs is that all,man thats a long time....I think that the other teams will get better each year and stay in front of them so lets say NEVER...!!!!

Originally posted by TRD
Osobad 10 yrs is that all,man thats a long time....I think that the other teams will get better each year and stay in front of them so lets say NEVER...!!!!

good point....DAMMIT!

The Detroit Lions signed rookie linebacker James Davis and released defensive tackle Shawn Lazarus on Tuesday.

The 6-foot-1, 221-pound Davis was the Lions' second selection in the fifth round of this year's draft. Contract terms were not released.

Davis had 238 tackles (144 solos) and 18 sacks in his career at West Virginia.

Lazarus was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Lions in May. He played 41 games (29 starts) in four years at Michigan.

Detroit Lions president Matt Millen has been fined US$200,000 by the NFL for failing to interview any minority candidates before hiring coach Steve Mariucci.

Commissioner Paul Tagliabue sent a letter to Millen informing him of the fine, but did not penalise the Lions with the loss of a draft pick.

Millen was summoned to a special meeting with Tagliabue and members of the league's committee on workplace diversity in March.

He was criticised for not adhering to guidelines put in place last December by the committee headed by Pittsburgh Steelers president Dan Rooney.

"As the president of the Lions, you participated in the decision by NFL clubs to commit to interview minority candidates when hiring head coaches and you made that commitment for the Lions on the December 20 league conference call," Tagliabue said in the letter to Millen.

"As club president, it was your responsibility to ensure that you and the Lions' organisation met the commitment or demonstrated to this office that it was impossible to meet for some justifiable reason."

Millen targeted Mariucci after he was fired by the San Francisco 49ers in the middle of January and did not conduct any other in-person interviews.

Rooney said their coaching search "fell short" of committee guidelines requiring a team to interview at least one minority candidate after Mariucci was hired in February.

The Lions contacted a number of minority candidates, including former Minnesota Vikings coach Dennis Green and Pittsburgh Steelers defensive co-ordinator Tim Lewis, but were turned down for interviews because it appeared inevitable Mariucci would be hired.

Originally posted by TRD
Detroit Lions president Matt Millen has been fined US$200,000 by the NFL for failing to interview any minority candidates before hiring coach Steve Mariucci.

Commissioner Paul Tagliabue sent a letter to Millen informing him of the fine, but did not penalise the Lions with the loss of a draft pick.

Millen was summoned to a special meeting with Tagliabue and members of the league's committee on workplace diversity in March.

He was criticised for not adhering to guidelines put in place last December by the committee headed by Pittsburgh Steelers president Dan Rooney.

"As the president of the Lions, you participated in the decision by NFL clubs to commit to interview minority candidates when hiring head coaches and you made that commitment for the Lions on the December 20 league conference call," Tagliabue said in the letter to Millen.

"As club president, it was your responsibility to ensure that you and the Lions' organisation met the commitment or demonstrated to this office that it was impossible to meet for some justifiable reason."

Millen targeted Mariucci after he was fired by the San Francisco 49ers in the middle of January and did not conduct any other in-person interviews.

Rooney said their coaching search "fell short" of committee guidelines requiring a team to interview at least one minority candidate after Mariucci was hired in February.

The Lions contacted a number of minority candidates, including former Minnesota Vikings coach Dennis Green and Pittsburgh Steelers defensive co-ordinator Tim Lewis, but were turned down for interviews because it appeared inevitable Mariucci would be hired.

DAMN you beat me to it! Wow you are sneaky......I personally think that whole ordeal is absolutely ridiculous. The article shows that millen did try to interview minority candidates but was denied. here is another article from a minority columnist so we can see his point of view:

The NFL isn't fooling anyone.

The league admonished honesty when it ridiculously levied a $200,000 fine on Lions president Matt Millen for violating the league's minority hiring policy. He had the audacity to think he had to move swiftly to sweep up Steve Mariucci.

Perhaps this is Millen's penance for hiring Marty Mornhinweg two years ago without talking to other candidates.

The NFL needed a scapegoat to appease the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Johnnie Cochran -- and few organizations in the last 40 years have worn the horns as naturally as the Lions.

But Millen should fight commissioner Paul Tagliabue's fine. If nothing else, he could expose the league's minority hiring policy as a sham.

Owners put it together haphazardly last year to appease potential protesters, but it was too vague to achieve its intent -- to encourage a more diverse pool of qualified candidates.

You can't legislate sincerity, but you can cultivate an environment so NFL owners understand that it is in their best interest to keep an open mind -- and aggressive attitude -- in hiring.

But the NFL's policy is flawed because it isn't well defined.

The league needs to concentrate its efforts on teams that pursue first-time NFL head coaches, not penalize teams that target a proven winner.

The San Francisco 49ers' search for Mariucci's successor was more insulting to the spirit of the policy than anything Millen did. The 49ers sent out early signals that they were looking for a fresh face, catering to some of the league's most impressive coordinators. They interviewed capable minority candidates such as New York Jets defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell and deserving white candidates like their own defensive coordinator, Jim Mora Jr.

But those discussions were a smoke screen to conceal the 49ers' real objective, which was to convince Dennis Erickson to return to the NFL.

The NFL apparently didn't think this deceit was worthy of sanction, though, particularly for a franchise considered one of the league's shining lights.

Dennis Green's actions in all this aren't above reproach, either.

The former Vikings coach bailed out Dallas and Jacksonville when the NFL inquired about the validity of his interviews with those teams. The Cowboys' search wasn't really open. It was a no-holds-barred push to lure Bill Parcells out of retirement, and Green knew that, but he declined to blow the whistle.

The Jaguars' interest in Green was strictly window dressing because they wanted new coaching blood. Again, Green signed off on the Jaguars' claims that they interviewed properly for the opening. And then Jacksonville hired Jack Del Rio.

So why didn't Green extend the Lions the same courtesy?

Those close to Green say he approached the Lions last December about replacing Mornhinweg, but there was no interest. Green and Mariucci share the same agents, so Green knew that overtures from Millen last January were intended to cover Millen's own rear with the league, making Millen no different from Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

But it seems Green just wanted to stick it to Millen and the Lions, and he wouldn't interview with them.

And history has proven that they're an easy target.

But this is an opportunity for the Lions to kick back. It's not often that they're accused of doing the right thing, but quietly accepting this verdict would be tantamount to validating the NFL's minority hiring policy in its current form.

And that's ridiculous.

-Drew Sharp

If the Lions are losing in games like they were most of last season, they will have to pass alot on offense. I think Harrington and Charles Rogers could put up some huge numbers this season.

Anyone know if James Stewart is healthy and if he is slated to start at RB?

ALLEN PAREK, Mich. -- The Detroit Lions lashed out at the NFL on Sunday in response to the league's $200,000 fine against Matt Millen for failing to interview minorities before hiring coach Steve Mariucci.

After coach Marty Mornhinweg was fired by the Lions in January, Mariucci was the only person interviewed for the job. Last week, NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue informed Millen, the Lions president, that he received the first fine levied under the league's diversity program.

The Lions said five minority candidates turned down interviews because it appeared inevitable Mariucci would be hired.


I think this is ridiculous, I mean when they heard Mariucci was available they scooped him up, that's crap that you have to interview certain people, who are they to tell you how to run your business, who you interview, who you hire, who you fire???

I was listening to the radio today and they were talkin about this....they made the point that millen DID try to interview minority candidates but they turned HIM down because they knew it would be a waste of time. They and everyone else knew tht millen wanted mooch alll along and he made it no secret. So what this seems to be coming to is everyone other new coach HAS to be a minority.

The lions will be the Team everyone wants to play in the new season.The reason so they can pick up easy points.HaHaHAHa

Originally posted by Osobad28
I was listening to the radio today and they were talkin about this....they made the point that millen DID try to interview minority candidates but they turned HIM down because they knew it would be a waste of time.

You are absolutely right, Millen contacted 5 (yes, 5) minority candidates and every one declined to interview with the Lions because they knew it was Mooch's job if he wanted it.

Regardless, this minority rule is the stupidest load of crap I have ever heard. EVER! A football team is a business, how can they tell them who to interview? who to hire? I will now end this post before I really get mad.

Politically correct BS