Looks like Steve Mariucci is coming home to Michigan to coach the Lions! Lions fire Mornhinweg Lions seek new direction; does it include Mariucci? Firing reveals progress
Reports have filtered in throughout the day via ESPN Radio that Mariucci HAS NOT been contacted by the Lions and several NFL pundits are saying that he should take a year off and then reassess his next move.
If Mariucci does sign with the Lions, then this is a coup. If he doesn't, then Millen will have proved conclusively (again) that he's utterly inept. Logic dictates you don't fire your coach during the off-season unless you have the replacement already lined up. I wouldn't mind hiring Dennis Green, though...
The pundits also almost unanimously picked Oakland to win Super Bowl XXXVII. Mariucci's from Michigan, he'd get to hang out with his bestest friend in the world Tom Izzo all the time, he knows Millen peripherally and the Detroit media will love him. I don't think Millen fires Morninwehg yesterday unless he's got an ace up his sleeve. He recently gave his coach full public support, so something must've happened, and I'm guessing that "something" was the Niners firing Mooch. Ironically, the biggest bitch a lot of Niner fans and players have about Mooch is his suspect play calling and seeming obliviousness to the clock, which is what I thought got Morninwehg in trouble. He's not gonna do something like choose to kick off in overtime like another coach we know, but some of his time management and resultant play calling this year was, um, interesting. Now, maybe the Niners will bring Morninwehg home to the Bay Area! Actually, they have asked for permission to speak with TB defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, who is apparently interested. Gruden met with him yesterday to try to convince him to stay, so we'll see how this shakes out. I wouldn't be surprised if Millen didn't at least talk to Kiffin as well.
Reports are coming out that Izzo has spoken to Mooch and that he (Izzo) thinks Mooch is gonna take a year off.
Hey, getting an interview by the Niners can be financially lucrative. It certainly worked, in MY case. Sincerely, Joe Johnson Millionaire and defensive coordinator, Philadelphia Eagles
Did Izzo say that before or after Millen fired Mornhinweg on Monday? Today's version, which pretty much makes sorta kinda certain that Detroit might be strongly pursuing Mariucci: Lions hope to have Mariucci in fold by next week Of course, also leaves it open that Mooch could indeed bail on coaching next year. Note the part at the end about Denny Green, who refused a formal interview with the Lions when Millen wouldn't guarantee him that Mooch is not the "leading candidate". Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face. Talk to 'em anyway, if you want the job, dumbass. If Mooch falls through, you might be able to squeeze them for a similar deal. PS--good one (re: Johnson), Andy!
Updated your post for today's news... Kiffin interviewed with the Niners via phone-conf today, then got a huge deal from the Bucs to stay. Highest paid assistant coach ever, apparently. Search continues out here. The Lions also fired their director of player personnel this week, so I'd strongly anticipate that's to give Mariucci the double title of Head Coach and Director of Player Personnel.
I hope for your sake Terry Donahue doesn't pick himself. I'd like to see Ted Cotrell get the job although I would miss him as a Jets fan.
Ditka to Lions: If Mariucci passes, call me By Mike O'Hara / The Detroit News ALLEN PARK -- Da Coach would like a shot at coaching the Lions. Mike Ditka, coach of the 1985 Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears, is endorsing Steve Mariucci for coach of the Lions. But Ditka would like a chance at the job if the Lions don't land Mariucci or another top candidate, such as Dennis Green. "I would come in and talk to them, if they had a definite interest," Ditka said in a telephone interview from Cancun, where he had a speaking engagement. "Just as a token and that stuff, no. I don't think there are a lot of places I'd like to coach anymore. Detroit is a little different, though. I played for years against them and coached for years against them. It's part of the 'Black and Blue' division. "It has a lot of the same ethnic makeup as Chicago -- hard-working people. They want a hard-working football team." Ditka, 63, has been out of coaching since 1999, when he was fired after three unsuccessful seasons as coach of the New Orleans Saints. Ditka returned to his radio job in Chicago, where he played tight end for the Bears and was coach from 1982-92, and a network position as a studio analyst for NFL games. Ditka considers himself a fall-back candidate, and he is campaigning for Mariucci to accept the Lions' offer. "I still consider it a done deal," Ditka said. "I think they'll do the deal." If nothing else, Ditka and Lions President Matt Millen would make for a lively radio team. It was on Ditka's radio show last year that Millen made his infamous "devout coward" comment about an unnamed Lion. "We'd kill 'em," Ditka said, laughing. "We'd have everybody fired."
Too bad for Ditka...like he had a chance, anyway... Mariucci finalizes $25 million deal as Lions' new coach