Detroit Lions GM Matt Millen thumbed his nose at the NFL’s minority coaching recruitment guidelines three years ago when he hired Steve Marriuchi has the team’s head coach.
No minority candidates were interviewed or even considered for the job until the pressure mounted. Millen contacted a few black coaches who told him what he could do with the opportunity to interview for a job that was already filled.
The Lions were slapped with a $250,000 fine and Millen was warned that it had better not happen again.
The Ford family (yes, Henry Ford descendants) is worth billions of dollars so a $250,000 fine is like the change most people thrown in the Salvation Army kettle during the holiday period.
Millen giggled and he got the man he wanted to coach the team.
Now, Marriuchi has been fired and his tenure as coach was a disaster. Millen has kept his job, but it was terrible drafting that left the Lions in pitiful condition.
Now that the Lions will again be searching for a coach, the Sportseye is willing to bet that Millen will interview or contact dozens of black head coaching candidates, including peewee football coach Snoop Dogg.
Among the black coaches that weren’t worthy of an interview in Millen’s eyes were Marvin Lewis of the Cincinnati Bengals and Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears. As head coaches, they have turned losers into winners and are on the way to the playoffs.
Both men are probably happy that their phone didn’t ring in 2002 with Millen on the other end of the line.
