Lions make Mariucci the fall-guy
Today, the Detroit Lions made a few big decisions, but only one was announced publicly: First they announced the firing of head coach Steve Mariucci. And by doing so, they also decided to keep General Manager Matt Millen. Although the second decision wasn't announced publicly, it was certainly made, and it may in fact turn out to be bigger in terms of its importance to the future of the Lion organization. At least they were smart enough to name *** Jauron interim head coach. But then again, in looking at who was left on staff, who else would you choose? I'll keep my opinion about the wisdom of those decisions to myself for now.
Although I'm sure Steve Mariucci was disappointed with the Lions' decision, I'll bet Packer coach Mike Sherman was even more disappointed. Sherman has been under mounting pressure as the Packer season continues its downward spiral, and there's increasing public speculation as to his coaching future with the team. Mariucci being back on the open market certainly can't be doing much to reassure him.
Although I personally think Sherman deserves to stay at least through the season, Mariucci's availability would make it possible for the Packer's to quickly address several issues at once by bringing him in...
- Packer management can address both the negative media, and the growing legion of Sherman-doubting fans. An upswing in both positive media and fan support would be welcome in the Packer locker room.
- With the possibility of Brett Favre's retirement looming, and Brett publicly hinting at his disdain for the thought of having to learn a new offense in the event of a coaching change, Mariucci's version of the West Coast offense would almost certainly make for an almost seamless transition for a proven veteran offense.
- I think that Favre, being a long-time friend of his former mentor Mariucci, would be far more likely to return for another season if he were reassured that the Packers are willing to make the right off-season moves to improve their chances for one more run at a Super Bowl. Mariucci taking the reigns would go a long way to reassure Favre, or at the very least intrigue him enough to bring him back once more.
Yup, the biggest decision the Detroit Lions made today was who would be the Packers' next head coach.
As bad as the Packers season has been so far, I'm really glad I'm not a Lion fan.
tags: packers, lions, favre, mariucci, millen, nfl, football