Detroit Lions Weblog

Is the Hiring of Jim Colletto the Lions Most Important Off Season Move? Martz and Millen at Odds?

The Lions recently hired Jim Colletto to replace Larry Beightol as their Offensive Line coach.   Colletto, who is a coaching lifer and was most recently UCLA’s Offensive Line coach, has prior experience working with Off. Coordinator Mike Martz (at Arizona St.) which should be a valuable asset.   Apparently Martz and Beightol were often at odds over a number of issues last season.   The situation was bad enough that Beightol would disseminate information in the classroom which would then, unfortunately, often be contradicted on the practice field, as plays were being worked out.   Colletto’s hiring is important because, if nothing else, the Lions will now feature a more cohesive coaching staff.

Colletto’s hiring becomes infinitely more important when you consider that Jon Kitna was under near constant duress last season because of the success of their opponent’s pass rush.  The Lions disappointing, patchwork offensive line unit allowed more than 60 QB sacks last season.   The Martz-designed offense utilizes very few maximum protection blocking packages since, by design, nearly everyone is a potential receiver on pass plays.   When you consider that the Lions have been rumored to have more than a passing interest in drafting Wisconsin OT Joe Thomas, Colletto’s job becomes all the more important.   Should the Lions draft Thomas, he will need to be game ready immediately.   Colletto will the be the coach most directly responsible in accelerating Thomas’ learning curve so that he can meet his anticipated promise.

With that in mind, their are a growing number of rumors that there is an evolving detente between Mike Martz and Team President Matt Millen.   Recently, Martz stated that he didn’t think that the Lions were considering drafting a QB, which generated a certain amount of consternation among observers because the draft process is analogous to a high stakes poker game in which no one wants to increase their opponent’s odds by revealing their hand.  In essence, by revealing the team’s draft plans, the Lions lose some of the value of their draft pick, which (the value of their pick) could eventually give them the leverage to trade down in the draft and acquire more with their pick. 

Pro Football Talk  recently reported (Feb 10th) in their “Rumor Mill” column that Millen and Martz could be at odds over who to take in the ‘07 draft.  They speculate that Martz wants the Lions to make their draft selection a player that would help them win now (i.e. Joe Thomas) as opposed to a selection that may not immediately pay dividends (i.e. JaMarcus Russell, Brady Quinn), but could down the line.   Why does Martz want to win now?  It would help open more future opportunities for him to become a head coach.  The intriguing aspect of this rumored disagreement is that Martz may eventually be a member of the organization longer than Millen, especially if next season is as poor as the 2006 season was. 

These type of disagreements are not foreign to the game.   It is obvious that when you put strong-willed, opinionated people together, they are eventually going to butt heads.   If anything, this could be a sign of the increasingly eroding respect and credibility that Matt Millen commands within the Lions organization.  Either that, or the whole thing is a ruse to keep the Lions true draft intentions a secret.   Should the Lions draft a QB, there are probably few coaches more qualified, and capable, to bring along a young QB and eventually have them become successful.   If anything, in spite of the results of ‘07 season, Martz will eventually become a desired candidate for a vacant head coaching position due to that fact.