Lions could've had Pack's McCarthy
by Tom Kowalski Wednesday December 26, 2007, 12:15 AM
ALLEN PARK -- If things had turned out just a little bit differently three years ago, Mike McCarthy likely would be the head coach of the Detroit Lions right now.
Instead, McCarthy will be coaching the Green Bay Packers against the Lions in the regular-season finale at Lambeau Field on Sunday.
McCarthy, who took over a 4-12 team in 2006 (when the Lions were 5-11), has the Packers at 12-3 this season and Green Bay already has secured the No. 2 seed in the NFC.
The 7-8 Lions, meanwhile, still are mired in the same losing muck. Could McCarthy have turned things around quicker than Lions coach Rod Marinelli? Who knows? Of course, McCarthy had quite an advantage in Green Bay with soon-to-be Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre, not to mention a lot of quality draft choices who actually panned out.
So what twist of fate led McCarthy to the Packers and not the Lions?
Back in the offseason of 2005, then-coach Steve Mariucci was in the market for an offensive coordinator to replace the retiring Sherm Lewis. Lions president Matt Millen had just the guy in mind: McCarthy, who was the New Orleans Saints' offensive coordinator at the time.
Millen correctly believed that Detroit's tired old West Coast system needed a kick start with some fresh new ideas and McCarthy appeared to be the perfect fit. McCarthy was eager to join the Lions so when Millen brought him up for an interview in Allen Park -- and the interview went very well -- it appeared McCarthy would join the Lions' staff. Millen was led to believe that Mariucci would welcome a new voice on the offensive staff.
There was one hitch, though. Mariucci didn't want anything to do with McCarthy.
Mariucci still was a strong believer in his West Coast system and he knew an aggressive and strong-willed coach such as McCarthy definitely would demand some changes and make waves if they didn't happen.
According to two sources who were very close to the situation,
Mariucci was expected to talk to McCarthy after Millen interviewed him, but that chat never took place. Mariucci apparently couldn't find the time to meet with McCarthy. Both sources say that Mariucci's only "discussion" with McCarthy was via a voice message he left on McCarthy's cell phone.
Mariucci didn't want to bring in McCarthy because Mariucci already had his No. 1 candidate in mind -- Ted Tollner. Millen's problem with bringing in Tollner had nothing to do with Tollner's coaching ability because Tollner is well-respected around the league. Millen's issue was that Tollner was tight with Mariucci and wouldn't be aggressive in trying to change the offensive approach.
It might just be a coincidence, but Mariucci hired Tollner when Millen was out of town taking care of a family emergency. Millen was not a happy man went he returned to Detroit and it was another reason why their once-strong relationship started to deteriorate. Millen eventually fired Mariucci after the Thanksgiving Day game that year.
You might ask -- if defensive coordinator Dick Jauron (who had previous head coaching experience) took over as the interim coach, how does that have anything to do with McCarthy? Here's why: Jauron never wanted the job and kept refusing to take it. It got to the point where Millen actually informed quarterback coach Greg Olson that he was going to be the interim coach.
Jauron finally relented (mostly because of his relationship with the Ford family), but if McCarthy had been on board at the time, it's very likely he would've been the interim coach.
And, if the Lions had responded in a positive way under him, it's not a stretch to assume that Millen would've kept him as the head coach. Remember, it was Millen who wanted McCarthy in Detroit to begin with.
What does it all mean? Not much, really. But Millen takes a relentless pounding for all of his poor decisions -- and rightly so -- but this is one time when Millen wanted to pull the trigger on a good move.
(Side note: You might also ask -- if Millen was so high on McCarthy, why didn't he consider him as a coaching candidate the following year? As McCarthy, who became the offensive coordinator with the 49ers, told a colleague: The Lions will never hire a third straight coach from San Francisco.)
Bookmarks