Guess this is why the Lions are the Lions

Ford enjoyed record profits around the same time the Lions were near the tail end of their Bronze Age (ca. 1995). Mitchie and others have written about it many times before, and they're right, but to understand the Lions as a business model, you have to understand Ford Motor Company. And vice versa.

Ford has placed high emphasis on crossover vehicles since 2000, and in many ways, Lions coaches have been selected along those same lines.

 

So you're saying Marty Morhinweg, Steve Mariucci and Rod Marinelli all have 4x4 suspensions? Or are they all hybrids?

 

Jackass Morninhweg = fuel efficient, low mileage (eventually recalled)
Mariucci = all-weather traction, ability to haul large objects (Owens)
Marinelli = utilitarian minivan

 

Let it be known Ford no longer makes a minivan. They admitted they can't compete with Chrysler and Honda and have scrapped the product. I think this is/was the last year of production of the Windstar.

Foreshadowing?

 

Ha!

 

This officially needs help from Starman...

 

The Lions have what dentists call Nursing Bottle Decay.

Full treatment of this mouth full of rotten, flapping English teeth and their restoration will be one of the great sports stories of this century.

 

the lions are the worst franchise in sports...1 playoff win since 57...btw..William Clay Ford Sr has nothing to do with the car company..the people who make these comparisons and idiotic fans who say boycot Ford cars are morons...the old man is just too loyal and old fashioned....unlike the pre cap/russ thomas days,heis not cheap..the practice faciltiy is top notch..Ford Field(lots but not all his money) is state of the art..The problem is that he has never hired a competant general manager...he has paid mooch 5 mill ayer..and millen the same....he is just clueless as to who to hire,thats the only problem..he has never threatened to move out of the area...a good man...a loyal man..but one of the worst owners in sports history,thus a dumb man

 

Sorry, but he's not one of the "worst owners in sports history" exactly for the reasons you mentioned.

Yeah, building a state of the art practice facility, putting up cash for a top notch stadium and paying big money for what was supposed to be a big time coach makes him a dumb man. Okay. And loyalty...well, that's just a horrendous trait to possess. Prospective employees hate to see that in a boss.

If I'm not mistaken, he also hired Millen at a time when any halfway decent coach wanted complete run of a team...that would've been dumb.

 

To clarify, he has nothing to do with Ford Motor Co. ANYMORE and that's a fairly recent development as he retired in 2005.

He does have the ceremonial title Director Emeritus.

 

Dumber than first giving Millen the job then sticking with him all these years?

 

All these years? Millen's only in his fifth year with the Lions. It just seems like it's been forever.

Almost the entire year tho, both Ford and Millen have been conspicously absent from the newspaper and camera. In past years, you'd see Millen up in his private box, looking glum. Maybe Millen is spending that time in his office, cleaning it out.