Friday, January 27, 2006

Marinelli Told Lions Fans What They Needed to Hear.

Lately I have been reading a great deal about the Detroit Lions new head coaching hire, Rod Marinelli. Being a Detroit fan I expect that there are going to always be serious detractors to what the Lions are doing during the offseason, whether that’s a new coaching hire, a free agent acquisition, or the NFL draft. And, to be honest, I am usually the one in the bunch that is scrutinizing the Lions more harshly than anyone else. But I almost always take an objective view of the situation and look at it from more than one angle. Which brings me to a recent article by Detroit News sports columnist Rob Parker, “New Lions Coach Told Us Nothing We Wanted to Hear� written January 20, 2006. Now, before I rant I want to clarify that I do understand that sports columnists are often asked to write an opposing view article by editors and such; so as to provide a broader spectrum of copy for readers to consume. Even so, this does nothing to change my belief that Rob Parker is nothing but a complete boob! What a jackass.

Apparently, Mr. Parker was much happier with Mooch as the Lions head coach. Probably because Mr. Parker is actually lazy and prefers his coaches to provide him with juicy copy so he doesn’t have to work very hard on his articles. Or, it may be possible that Mr. Parker thinks that unless you can guarantee a playoff spot for the Lions on the first day on the job you shouldn’t be coaching. How about this Mr. Parker, maybe you shouldn’t be a writer if you don’t like researching material for your articles.

Personally, I was quite happy with how Marinelli conducted himself during his introductory interview with the local media. The LAST thing I wanted to hear from my new coach was “I guarantee we make the playoffs this year� or “I don’t like Harrington, and I will be looking for a new quarterback without speaking to Joey first. Because, if I sit down with Joey and my new assistant staff prior to making a decision on Joey’s status with the team, Mr. Parker will be disappointed that I didn’t make a clear, decisive and unintelligent decision about the quarterback position.� Is that what you wanted to hear Mr. Parker.

Any true fan of the NFL and the Detroit Lions should understand immediately, that any Lions coach that does not fit the previous molds is a very good thing. I mean, was Mr. Parker on sabbatical during Mooch’s tenure as head coach, or what? Mooch gave reporters all the copy that Parker wanted to hear, didn’t he? Yet he still failed miserably and didn’t make the playoffs, even thought that was the promise at the beginning of the season. So, Mr. Parker if you have a problem with hiring a coach that does not fit the mold of Mooch, Moron-wedgie, Cocaine Wayne, or Dull Darrel Rogers, get the hell out of town! The last thing this town needs, aside from another lazy and dull-witted writer, is a coach with some new offensive scheme (west coast defense, run and shoot-ourselves-in-the-foot) coupled with a bend-and-break defense.