Lions fire Martz

[smizzhfx]

I think we all knew it was coming, but it appears it's a done deal now.

Lions fire Mike Martz
January 2, 2008

By NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA

FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

Mike Martz confirmed today the Lions had fired him as offensive coordinator.

“The only thing I will tell you is, I came here because of Rod,” Martz said in a brief telephone interview with the Free Press. “Rod’s a terrific coach, a man of great character.

“We fell short of what we wanted to do offensively, and I regret that. Nonetheless, he’s going to be successful, and I wish he and the Lions all the best. My experience there was very positive.”

ESPN reported Martz would be succeeded by offensive line coach Jim Colletto and receivers coach Kippy Brown would become assistant head coach, passing game coordinator and running backs coach.

Shawn Jefferson was promoted from offensive assistant to receivers coach, and Tim Martz, Martz’s son, was fired as an offensive assistant.

Lions spokesman Bill Keenist said the team had nothing to announce today and had no comment on the report.

Mike Martz declined to comment on reports Colletto clashed with him about the running game early in the season.

“No,” Martz said. “Jim’s an excellent coach. That’s a good staff, and they’ll do well. They really will. Like I said, I’ve got no regrets about anything. I have no anger. I’m not upset about anything. I went as far as I could there, and now it’s time for me to move on.”

In his introductory news conference in January 2006, Marinelli said he wanted to run the ball with power. Later, he hired Martz, who is known for his aggressive passing attack. The Lions often were unbalanced this season.

Asked if the firing came down to philosophical differences, Martz said: “Sure. More or less. I believe in Rod. I believe he’s a great coach and a great man. I think people need to understand that, and I think he’s done a great job there. He’ll be successful. He will. He’ll do well there. It’s just time that I moved on, really, more than anything else.”

The NFL record for fewest rushing attempts in a game is six. The Lions had games with seven, eight and nine rushing attempts this season.

Martz said repeatedly this season that the run/pass ratio didn’t matter. What mattered was execution and the circumstances in the game.

“I think when you’re playing from a lead or the game’s in the balance, I think you have a tendency to mix things in pretty good,” Martz said. “But things kind of got out of hand occasionally, and you have to do what you can to stay in the game. That happened on a couple of occasions. But that really doesn’t matter. What matters it that we fell short. We didn’t succeed in the way we all felt like we would. That’s the way it goes.

“I was disappointed we just didn’t do as well as we should have, and really, that’s about it.”

Asked about his future, Martz said: “It’s awfully early yet. We’ll just kind of see what happens. I wish them the best. I really do. The Ford family deserves a winner, and I think they’ll bring them one.”

[Yodude]

Another shaft job on Martz. What a joke. How can you expect him to run the ball when they fell behind early in so many games.

The Lions defense was dead last in the NFL in points allowed....and they fire the offensive coordinator?

...and keep the defensive coordinator...who happens to be Marinelli's son in law!:x

[UtterBlitz]

I wonder why they fired him. Maybe he really is difficult to work with.

[r8rh8rmike]

Originally Posted by UtterBlitz

I wonder why they fired him. Maybe he really is difficult to work with.

That seems to be the case. Here's part of an article Nick posted a while ago:

While Jon Kitna always was firmly in Martz's corner, the offensive linemen were not. One, the linemen believed Martz wasn't just a pass-happy coordinator, but a pass-always type of guy and they don't agree with that philosophy.

The other issue is that in Martz's system, the linemen are almost always in one-on-one pass-rush matchups, especially at the tackles, and that puts undue pressure on the line. The Lions led the league in sacks allowed last year and are leading again this season. That's an embarrassment to the linemen.

The desire to run the ball more led to a rather significant blowup by offensive line coach Jim Colletto earlier this season. It was so intense that Martz agreed to let Colletto handle the design of the running game (but Martz would continue to call all the plays). That fixed things for awhile and the Lions were actually running the ball effectively until the Arizona game -- the one where the Lions finished with minus-18 yards rushing. The linemen -- along with several members of the coaching staff -- were livid with Martz's playcalling in that game and it really marked the beginning of the end.

The relationship between Martz and Marinelli always was one of mutual respect but also of high intensity. Both men are absolutely rigid in their beliefs and won't back down from anyone or anything. The hitch is that Marinelli's the boss.

As the other problems began to mount, Marinelli wanted Martz to throttle down the offense a little bit so the other issues could be addressed. When that didn't happen to Marinelli's liking, their relationship suffered. If Martz decides to resign, Marinelli won't be asking him to change his mind.

[txramsfan]

Yea, it was Martz's fault for the defensive collapse of the Lions. It's always Martz's fault. Global warming, Hillary's third place finish, Chris Crocker's Brittney Spears breakdown on Jimmy Kimmell.....

[HUbison]

One, the linemen believed Martz wasn't just a pass-happy coordinator, but a pass-always type of guy and they don't agree with that philosophy.

The other issue is that in Martz's system, the linemen are almost always in one-on-one pass-rush matchups, especially at the tackles, and that puts undue pressure on the line. The Lions led the league in sacks allowed last year and are leading again this season. That's an embarrassment to the linemen.

Oh those poor, poor linemen. They're embarassed because they lead the leagues in sacks allowed. Good, they should be embarassed. Whining about blocking one-on-one........that's the true embarassment.

No wonder the Lions can't get the job done. If their players don't have the bal......I mean heart, to man up and whip the guy in front of them, they should be embarassed.

[r8rh8rmike]

Regardless of what the linemen thought, Martz obviously had some serious disagreements with Marinelli as well as some other coaches and chose to disregard the adjustments that were dictated. He sealed his own fate by defying his head coach.

[txramsfan]

Oh c'mon mike....I'm sure Marinelli knew what kind of OC Martz was before hiring him. You can't ask a tiger to change his stripes.

[r8rh8rmike]

Originally Posted by txramsfan

Oh c'mon mike....I'm sure Marinelli knew what kind of OC Martz was before hiring him. You can't ask a tiger to change his stripes.

You're probably right Tx. Marinelli and the Lions took a chance on a guy they knew was a high risk, high reward proposition and it didn't work out. Considering the situation, I don't think they had much choice but to cut their losses and look to move in a different direction.

[txramsfan]

Martz's offense works when he has a good defense behind him. Look at 1999 and 2001. Both those defenses were good, and the offense was clicking.

This Detroit defense was swiss cheese. That hurt the Lions just as much as the offense Martz put together.

Hey, Martz is an aquired taste.

[DieHard23]

Originally Posted by HUbison

Oh those poor, poor linemen. They're embarassed because they lead the leagues in sacks allowed. Good, they should be embarassed. Whining about blocking one-on-one........that's the true embarassment.

No wonder the Lions can't get the job done. If their players don't have the bal......I mean heart, to man up and whip the guy in front of them, they should be embarassed.

READ MY MIND AND TYPED WHAT YOU SAW. THESE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE NFL PLAYERS, THE BEST IN THE WORLD. HOW CAN YOU COMPLAIN ABOUT 1-1 BLOCKING. THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE YOUR CHANCE TO SHINE

[Ferter]

Funny how the pats season of success revolves around a pass offense not that different from the Martz system. Of course they have a defense and a genius(whatever) for a head coach.

Martz was using this system before any of them.

Could there be a team this post-season who uses DB's to mug the pats receivers? It would be an ironic twist of events as compared to SB36.

Of course it is highly doubtful the NFL will allow its' officials to overlook the barbaric tactics, once employed by the pats, to be used against the pats.