Analog
Lifer
T he Lions promised to look farther and dig deeper for their new coach, and boy, did they ever. Rod Marinelli was a longshot unknown a couple of weeks ago. Today, he's the team's new leader, brought here for two major reasons.
Toughness. Discipline.
The Lions need huge doses of both. Team president Matt Millen was so desperate for an attitude makeover, he was willing to take a gamble, a monstrous gamble, a shaky gamble. In the end, with candidates scarce and possibilities dwindling, he didn't have many other options.
Marinelli, assistant head coach for Tampa Bay, was in Detroit for his second interview Wednesday, and the Lions didn't let him leave. He'll be introduced at a news conference today. We'd love to call it a bright, bold move, but based on Millen's track record, we remain sufficiently leery.
This will be a major leap for Marinelli, 56, known mostly for directing a hard-charging defensive line in 10 seasons with the Buccaneers. It's an equally large leap for Millen, who failed spectacularly with this two previous coaching hires, Marty Mornhinweg and Steve Mariucci.
In some ways, it's a bizarre pick but oddly intriguing. Marinelli talks passionately about leadership and has been known to show videos of attacking sharks to inspire his players. He won't bring public relations frills, but he could, theoretically, be the forceful leader the Lions sorely lack. I mean, they are due to get lucky one of these decades, aren't they?
Marinelli will have to slap into shape a disjointed team that lugs the league's most disgusting record -- 21-59 in five seasons with Millen in charge. There's no way to predict how Marinelli will make the transition from longtime assistant to first-time head coach, to know if he can bring fresh energy to a beaten-down franchise.
But at least we can say this: An unknown is better than some of the knowns who were being considered.http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060119/SPORTS08/601190439
Toughness. Discipline.
The Lions need huge doses of both. Team president Matt Millen was so desperate for an attitude makeover, he was willing to take a gamble, a monstrous gamble, a shaky gamble. In the end, with candidates scarce and possibilities dwindling, he didn't have many other options.
Marinelli, assistant head coach for Tampa Bay, was in Detroit for his second interview Wednesday, and the Lions didn't let him leave. He'll be introduced at a news conference today. We'd love to call it a bright, bold move, but based on Millen's track record, we remain sufficiently leery.
This will be a major leap for Marinelli, 56, known mostly for directing a hard-charging defensive line in 10 seasons with the Buccaneers. It's an equally large leap for Millen, who failed spectacularly with this two previous coaching hires, Marty Mornhinweg and Steve Mariucci.
In some ways, it's a bizarre pick but oddly intriguing. Marinelli talks passionately about leadership and has been known to show videos of attacking sharks to inspire his players. He won't bring public relations frills, but he could, theoretically, be the forceful leader the Lions sorely lack. I mean, they are due to get lucky one of these decades, aren't they?
Marinelli will have to slap into shape a disjointed team that lugs the league's most disgusting record -- 21-59 in five seasons with Millen in charge. There's no way to predict how Marinelli will make the transition from longtime assistant to first-time head coach, to know if he can bring fresh energy to a beaten-down franchise.
But at least we can say this: An unknown is better than some of the knowns who were being considered.http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060119/SPORTS08/601190439
