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In sickness and in health Lions-Mariucci union should pay immediate dividendsPosted: Tuesday February 04, 2003 7:23 PM
Now that Steve Mariucci and the Detroit Lions have 25 million or so ties that bind them together, what should we make of their new marriage? First, the big picture. The consensus around the league is that the hiring of Mariucci gives Detroit credibility for the first time in the brief but shaky tenure of Matt Millen. Though he may not ever admit it, the Lions president/CEO made a rookie move two years ago when he hired Marty Mornhinweg as the Lions head coach. Five wins and 27 losses later, Millen got it right, landing Mariucci himself instead of the Mariucci disciple, Mornhinweg. As Millen already knew, in the NFL, the real deal always is preferable to an imitation. The man they call "Mooch" makes the Lions instantly better. Under Mariucci, the Lions players will want to win and believe they can win in a way they never did under Mornhinweg. No matter what he tried, whether it be his sophomoric stunt of roaring off on a motorcycle in the midst of one uneven training camp workout or changing his look by taking a stab at a goatee, Mornhinweg never inspired confidence. And we won't even begin to dissect the fallout from Mornhinweg's ill-fated confidence-sapping decision to take the wind rather than the ball in an overtime loss at Chicago this season. Confidence in a head coach counts for a lot in a player's world, and Mariucci walks in the door with a track record that Mornhinweg only could envy. Sure, Mornhinweg was fond of flashing his 1996 Super Bowl ring around, earned for his role as Green Bay's quarterbacks coach, but that had limited cache compared to Mariucci's four playoff trips in six seasons as an NFL head coach. Mornhinweg hoped to win. Mooch has won. That's a key distinction that won't be lost on the Lions. Said one veteran NFL personnel man on Tuesday: "I think that Lions team will be very, very competitive under Mariucci. I like everything I know about him. You talk to people out in San Francisco and they say, 'Well, he struggles here and there with this particular kind of situation.' But I think he's pretty good, and he'll get something out of that Detroit team." Secondly, Mariucci's hiring is a very good thing indeed for Joey Harrington. Mark this day down Lions fans. It just might be that Detroit's second-year quarterback got the break of his career. Under Mornhinweg's West Coast offense, Harrington already had flashed the kind of skills that made Lions fans believe the team's long-standing quarterback question finally had been answered. Under Mariucci, Harrington won't have to change systems, and should be able to quickly progress to the next level in an offense that typically takes two to three years to master. "Mariucci is going to be great for Joey Harrington," said a personnel man from one NFC North rival. "Harrington will thrive under him and that could make a tremendous difference in a number of games." One NFC opponent's general manager laid it out in even starker terms: "Mariucci's biggest deal is in handling and developing quarterbacks, that's his specialty. I don't know if Mornhinweg ever had that kind of talent. Yes, he was Mariucci's disciple, but he never really had the same level of expertise with quarterbacks. "I think Mariucci is in the elite class in regards to developing quarterbacks. That's why they're getting him. If he performs some of his magic, they should be fine. He's got to take that offense to another level. But you saw what Andy Reid did in Philadelphia and what Mike Holmgren did in Green Bay. I have no reason to believe that this situation will be any different." What kind of team is Mariucci inheriting to put around Harrington? Offensively, the Lions ranked 28th last year. But they do have several building blocks in place. On defense, there's considerably more work to be done, as Detroit's next-to-last ranking in 2002 attests. Detroit's receivers have talent. But injuries or inconsistency plagued Az-Zahir Hakim, Bill Schroeder and Germane Crowell in 2002, and the Lions must upgrade the position this offseason, giving Harrington a true No. 1 target. The most likely name you hear is Charlie Rogers, the explosive Michigan State receiver whom the Lions strongly are considering with their No. 2 overall draft pick. "If they can get Rogers," said another league personnel man, "they can have him and Harrington grow together the way Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison did. They have some receiving talent, with a nice West Coast-style tight end in Mikhael Ricks, but the two guys they put money into last year [Hakim and Schroeder] didn't perform." Working in the Lions' favor is that Mariucci is not unaccustomed to the handicap of having just one big-play receiving threat. After Jerry Rice left the 49ers two years ago, Mariucci went 22-10 with one playoff victory despite having only Tai Streets and J.J. Stokes behind Terrell Owens. "They need a No. 1 receiver in there," an opponent's GM said. "But if they can get that, they've got enough other pieces at receiver. They're not starting from ground zero." Running back James Stewart is not really a West Coast-style back. He's a pounder, not an explosive back, and he doesn't catch the ball particularly well. Still, the Lions might have to live with him until they can find someone better. Detroit will try and restructure Stewart's $5 million cap figure in 2003, and it's a move he's open to. "To me, that West Coast back is not a guy that's hard to find," said one opposing personnel man. "You can get him in the draft. That's a manageable situation for Steve." Up front on the offensive line, the Lions are very solid in two spots: at center with Dominic Raiola and at left tackle with Jeff Backus. But right guard Ray Brown is 40, right tackle Stockar McDougle is a work in progress and left guard is a hole that needs to be filled. Bottom line? "They've got guys up front that when they're playing hard, they're pretty good," said an opposing personnel man. "If they're coached right, I don't think that offense is far away. I really don't." On defense, Detroit needs help almost everywhere. Its secondary might be in need of a total overhaul, given that at times last season the Lions were playing with no cover corners and a pair of potential backups at safety. Weakside linebacker Barrett Green is young and athletic, but middle linebacker Chris Claiborne might be allowed to leave via free agency. The strength of Detroit's defense should be its line, but as an opposing general manager said: "The names look better on paper than they are. They have either some descending players or some players who haven't played well together. They should be formidable, but they haven't clicked." Left end Robert Porcher remains the best of the bunch, but both he and left tackle Luther Elliss make bigger money than their production supports, and both are starting to show signs of age. Right tackle Shaun Rogers had a disappointing second season after his standout rookie campaign, but last year's second-round pick, Kalimba Edwards, showed promise as a situational rusher, with a team-leading 6.5 sacks. "They've got some age, some financial issues and some morale issues to deal with on the line," an opposing personnel man said. "But I think in a lot of ways they're better than they looked last year. That's where a new head coach might help out. I think they'll all play better for Mariucci." Of course, that's what the Lions are banking on across the board. To the tune of $5 million per season -- a figure that more than doubled Mariucci's scheduled 2003 salary of $2.25 million in San Francisco. At that price tag, Millen and Detroit can't afford to be wrong this time. Mariucci might be inheriting 5-11 talent, but those numbers won't suffice for long. "It's a coach's league," one opposing NFC GM said. "If you do a very good job of coaching, you're going to be in the hunt these days. Nobody beats anybody on sheer talent any more. Those days are over. It comes down to that one word: coaching. That's why Detroit got him. And I think the Lions will be the beneficiary of the 49ers' loss."
Don Banks covers pro football for CNNSI.com.
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