As he took the reigns as Detroit Lions head coach in 2021, many national pundits would have called Dan Campbell another failed hire by a woebegone franchise before he ever coached a game. But it turns out his alluding to "knee cap biting" was a metaphor for the tone he was intent on setting, and now the jokes are on those who doubted him in that moment (and many acknowledge it now).
When it came down to it, poor hires at the general manager level begat bad head coaching hires. Those bad hires culminated in not having nearly enough good players, and of course losing piles of games year after year. The Lions fixed things at the top, and success has followed.
For the better part of the three decades the Lions went without a playoff win, there was a litany of failure. From 2000-2020 the "Motor City Kitties" won five or fewer games in a season 10 times, including in five of six seasons from 2001-2006 and of course the memorable for all the wrong reasons 0-16 campaign in 2008.
Why the focus on the time since 2000 for the Lions? That's the broad premise of a recent list from Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports, as he tabbed the 25 worst head coaching hires in the NFL this century.
Three former Lions head coaches made the list.
Former Lions head coaches well-represented among worst hires of the century
The first former Lions' head coach to show up on Benjamin's list, counted down from 25, is Rod Marinelli at No. 10.
"Anytime you literally go winless, there's plenty of blame to go around, and Detroit faithful surely pin much of it on former president and CEO Matt Millen, who oversaw the construction of the long-lowly Lions. Marinelli was the man on the sidelines, though, and not even his specialty -- defense -- looked even remotely special as Motown endured one blowout after another."
Marinelli was a fine defensive coach over a very long career. He just wasn't suited to be a head coach, and the aforementioned winless season in 2008 ended his tenure in Detroit after three seasons with a 10-38 record.
Next up, with a strong argument to be higher, is Matt Patricia at No. 9.
"Another wizard under Bill Belichick who struggled mightily to replicate the Patriots aura elsewhere, Patricia inherited a reasonably competitive Lions roster from under the watch of Jim Caldwell, only to oversee a perceived breakdown in the very culture of the organization, with big-name veterans like future Super Bowl champion Darius Slay clashing with his personality."
All the dysfunction that took place during his tenure still makes it hard to believe Patricia lasted less than three seasons as Lions' head coach (2018-2020; 13-29-1 record). But the firing of him and general manager Bob Quinn paved the way for then-new principal owner Sheila Hamp to make wholesale changes to the football operation, and the fruits of those changes are being enjoyed now.
At No. 7 we get the third former Lions' head coach to make Benjamin's list, Marty Mornhinweg.
"Marty was a trusted offensive voice for icons like Andy Reid, Mike Holmgren and Steve Mariucci, but some of those roles may have been refined thanks to the embarrassment of his time in Detroit. The Lions are ultra-aggressive under Dan Campbell these days, which is a stark contrast to the time Mornhinweg literally opted to kick the ball to his opponent in sudden-death overtime in 2002."
Mornhinweg went 5-27 over two seasons as Lions' head coach (2001-2002). There's nothing more to say than that.
Some Lions fans might say a fourth former head coach deserves a spot on Benjamin's list, and if there were an honorable (dishonorable?) mention category he might have made it.
Steve Mariucci came back home to Michigan with some fanfare, after a successful run with the San Francisco 49ers. Then he proceeded to go 15-28 over less than three seasons (2003-2005) between Mornhinweg and Mariucci. Taken together as a trio, that's quite a continuous run of losing football ( 30-93 combined record from 2001-2008, 31-97 total team record counting Dick Jauron's stint as interim head coach to end the 2005 season).
Fortunately, with Campbell running the show now, those dismal days in Lions' history are only a bad memory.
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