Quote Originally Posted by sirrealone View Post
They've tried that too. Bobby Ross. Steve Mariucci. Jim Caldwell. All had been very successful, at least two of them even made it to or won the Super Bowl as head coaches.

I think finding a successful head coach involves luck, and let's face it the Lions just don't ever have any of that come their way. There's always something missing or just the wrong person for the situation. Couple of examples:

Bobby Ross - I think he could have been successful except that he lost Barry Sanders right off the bat. Barry was used to receiving special privileges and Ross was having none of it.

Jim Schwartz - Out of all the coaches that they've had since the post-Fontes carousel began, Schwartz is the guy I think was actually a darn good coach. He could make the team play better than the sum of their parts. He could identify and plan around mismatches. He could adjust game plans at halftimes. Most Lions coaches are baffled by these things. But his 'puzzle' was incomplete. He lacked self-discipline and the team caught onto that and became undisciplined.

Jim Caldwell - Had the opposite problem. He was brought in specifically to be level-headed and even-keeled, which he was. To a fault. He needed to get upset every once in a while. Maybe even once. I mean, he built a reputation for standing there stoically, which was definitely a sign of discipline. But wouldn't that have made it even more impactful had he just once [[maybe when the PI call was picked up in the Cowboys game) thrown his clipboard down? He brought calm but unfortunately to the point of complacency.

Those are the three coaches that I think had actual opportunity to succeed but were just short of being able to do so. Marty was an idiot. Mariucci seemed to take the job as a favor to Millen [[and for the paycheck), but his disinterest was evident from the get-go. Patricia suffers from thinking he's as smart as Bellichek without having proven a single thing . Those three never had a chance. Marinelli? Who knows? The teams he coached were so absent in talent that I really have no idea if he was a good coach or not. He seems happy to be back under the radar kicking butt as a defensive coordinator, so good for him.

So honestly, they just need to move on and hope that at some point a coach gels. That they have the right connection with the players on the roster. That the right coaches pick up the phone and the wrong ones miss the call when he's assembling his staff. I know there's a lot more to it, but for once I just want them to find the right guy in the right place at the right time.

Just one in my lifetime. That's all.
Good post. I don't follow the Lions as closely as the other sports [[just tune in until the end of the season, usually before Thanksgiving) and had forgotten so many have come and gone.