Rod Marinelli finalizing deal to be Lion's head coach.
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Re: Rod Marinelli finalizing deal to be Lion's head coa
More on Marinelli
Marinelli spent the past 10 seasons in Tampa Bay as defensive line coach. His unit helped establish an NFL record with 69 straight games with at least one sack from 1999-03. He had the title of assistant head coach added in 2002.
He has not been a head coach at any level, but attracted interest from at least one other team with an opening this offseason. The Oakland Raiders interviewed Marinelli on Monday, then he traveled to suburban Detroit for a second interview with Lions president Matt Millen.
Former New Orleans Saints coach Jim Haslett said he was scheduled to travel from his home in Louisiana to Michigan on Wednesday night for a second interview. But on Wednesday evening, he told the AP he had not heard from the Lions about his travel arrangements or his prospects for the job.
Unlike Millen's first two coaching searches, he took his time and interviewed several candidates. Millen hired Marty Mornhinweg quickly in 2001, hoping Cleveland wouldn't hire him. Two years later, Millen hired Steve Mariucci with such haste that he was fined $200,000 by the NFL because he didn't follow the league's minority interview policy.
With Millen's players and coaches, the Lions are an NFL-worst 21-59 over the past five seasons -- since the former linebacker and TV analyst became an NFL executive for the first time.
**** Jauron, who took over when Mariucci was fired in November, was one of many candidates Millen interviewed during a two-week process. Among the coaches Millen also interviewed were: Pittsburgh offensive line coach Russ Grimm; Denver offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak; Cleveland offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon, New York Giants defensive coordinator Tim Lewis and San Francisco assistant head coach Mike Singletary.
Marinelli's coaching career began in 1973 as an assistant at Rosemead (Calif.) High School. He was an assistant at Utah State from 1973-82, before moving on to California for nine seasons, Arizona State for three seasons and Southern California for one season.
He went to Tampa Bay in 1996 and was the defensive line coach for six seasons. The past four seasons, he also had the title of assistant head coach.
More on Marinelli
Marinelli spent the past 10 seasons in Tampa Bay as defensive line coach. His unit helped establish an NFL record with 69 straight games with at least one sack from 1999-03. He had the title of assistant head coach added in 2002.
He has not been a head coach at any level, but attracted interest from at least one other team with an opening this offseason. The Oakland Raiders interviewed Marinelli on Monday, then he traveled to suburban Detroit for a second interview with Lions president Matt Millen.
Former New Orleans Saints coach Jim Haslett said he was scheduled to travel from his home in Louisiana to Michigan on Wednesday night for a second interview. But on Wednesday evening, he told the AP he had not heard from the Lions about his travel arrangements or his prospects for the job.
Unlike Millen's first two coaching searches, he took his time and interviewed several candidates. Millen hired Marty Mornhinweg quickly in 2001, hoping Cleveland wouldn't hire him. Two years later, Millen hired Steve Mariucci with such haste that he was fined $200,000 by the NFL because he didn't follow the league's minority interview policy.
With Millen's players and coaches, the Lions are an NFL-worst 21-59 over the past five seasons -- since the former linebacker and TV analyst became an NFL executive for the first time.
**** Jauron, who took over when Mariucci was fired in November, was one of many candidates Millen interviewed during a two-week process. Among the coaches Millen also interviewed were: Pittsburgh offensive line coach Russ Grimm; Denver offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak; Cleveland offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon, New York Giants defensive coordinator Tim Lewis and San Francisco assistant head coach Mike Singletary.
Marinelli's coaching career began in 1973 as an assistant at Rosemead (Calif.) High School. He was an assistant at Utah State from 1973-82, before moving on to California for nine seasons, Arizona State for three seasons and Southern California for one season.
He went to Tampa Bay in 1996 and was the defensive line coach for six seasons. The past four seasons, he also had the title of assistant head coach.
Zero2Cool
I own a website
Re: Rod Marinelli finalizing deal to be Lion's head coa
I'm not skeered.
I'm not skeered.
yooperfan
Cheesehead
Re: Rod Marinelli finalizing deal to be Lion's head coa
It doesn't matter who the Lions hire as head coach.
Until ownership of that team changes the Lions will be a team in total disarray.
They have changed stadiums, changed coaches and players, even hired a "General Manager" yet year in and year out the same old general confusion prevails in Detroit.
Ford has a better idea.
It doesn't matter who the Lions hire as head coach.
Until ownership of that team changes the Lions will be a team in total disarray.
They have changed stadiums, changed coaches and players, even hired a "General Manager" yet year in and year out the same old general confusion prevails in Detroit.
Ford has a better idea.
packerfan4ever
Cheesehead
Re: Rod Marinelli finalizing deal to be Lion's head coa
other than the bears the three teams will all have new h.c. so will be interesting to see who has the best coach hopfully that will be greenbay.
other than the bears the three teams will all have new h.c. so will be interesting to see who has the best coach hopfully that will be greenbay.
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Re: Rod Marinelli finalizing deal to be Lion's head coa
Finally..
(someone with an IQ lower than Millen's.....)
Finally..
(someone with an IQ lower than Millen's.....)
Philtration
Cheesehead
Re: Rod Marinelli finalizing deal to be Lion's head coa
Well well..... are you bashing another team's choice for their new HC before he plays a single game? Are you making fun of him for throwing out corny and tired clichés at his press conference?
Not being too much of a hypocrite are you Trom? :roll:
tromadz said:
Well well..... are you bashing another team's choice for their new HC before he plays a single game? Are you making fun of him for throwing out corny and tired clichés at his press conference?
Not being too much of a hypocrite are you Trom? :roll:
Re: Rod Marinelli finalizing deal to be Lion's head coa
You didnt even see the press conference, did you? No(or you can lie and say you did, thats fine, i wont be able to tell, its the internet), so shut up.
McCarthy(and other new head coaches, *******) kept their composure and handled themselves well during their conferences, but this guy was gettin all crazy with it, and walk from the mic, like he was trying to rile up his team before the 2nd half. It was so awkward.
Did I mock him? No...I was shocked at his unprofessionalism. So uh..yeah...suck it dry, phil.
You didnt even see the press conference, did you? No(or you can lie and say you did, thats fine, i wont be able to tell, its the internet), so shut up.
McCarthy(and other new head coaches, *******) kept their composure and handled themselves well during their conferences, but this guy was gettin all crazy with it, and walk from the mic, like he was trying to rile up his team before the 2nd half. It was so awkward.
Did I mock him? No...I was shocked at his unprofessionalism. So uh..yeah...suck it dry, phil.
Philtration
Cheesehead
Re: Rod Marinelli finalizing deal to be Lion's head coa
tromadz said:
Re: Rod Marinelli finalizing deal to be Lion's head coa
Marinelli Presser (Long)
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LIONS PRESIDENT AND CEO MATT MILLEN
Opening Statement: "Good morning. First of all, thanks everyone for coming out today. We appreciate that. I kind of just want to give you a little background as to how we've gotten to this point because it's been a long journey. We had a chance the last time with these guys up front. We told you we'd take our time and be patient, and we'd be aggressively patient. And I think we've done that. It's been a while now. This whole process started a while back and really right after Thanksgiving. There's a lot of work that went into it. There was a lot of fact finding. There was a lot of background work. There were a lot of things to get done, which we did. Then we moved on to the candidates, and I thought the candidates that were chosen and that we interviewed were phenomenal. We had a great group. I was very impressed with all of them. I enjoyed talking football with all of them. They all had very definitive ideas. They all had clear visions and a way to do things. It was a learning experience for me and it was well appreciated. We took that route, and we stayed with it.
"We knew there was a process and there was an end to get to. I think the most important thing is that we knew what we were looking for. We knew what this football team is and what we need. The man that I'm going to introduce to you I think best has those qualities. To me it comes down to a few things. It has to be leadership, and it has to be passion. It has to be a willingness to get to work and get this thing done because we have a lot of work. We have a lot of work to get done here. I believe we have the people who want to get that work done. It was thorough. Like I said, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed everyone of them. The guys we brought in we had a chance to speak to, it was good. It was a good learning experience, I think for both sides. Without anymore being said, I'd like to introduce the head coach of the Detroit Lions: Rod Marinelli. Congratulations coach."
LIONS HEAD COACH ROD MARINELLI
Opening Statement: "Good morning. There's just a couple of points; I'll be fairly short and direct. First of all I'd like to thank Mr. Ford and Matt (Millen) for this opportunity to lead the Detroit Lions. I appreciate that. I want to make a point to thank my family, my wife Barbara, my two daughters both football girls Christine and Gina. And for the men that I worked for and played for I'd like to take a second and make sure I thank them. My high school coaches are very important to me, Don Porter, Coach Jim Ellis and my college coach, Coach Shoup. And then there are men I worked for who have been important to me in my growth and my career. There's Bruce Snyder, I had a chance to work with him in three different programs. I worked for Joe Kapp, a tremendous man. John Robinson at USC, great man. Tony Dungy who brought me into the NFL. In terms of Tampa Bay; two great friends I have there: Lovie Smith who I kind of grew up in this profession with, he's one of my best friends; Monte Kiffin, defensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who I have an unbelievable respect for. He's one of the great ones in this league. Coach Jon Gruden who helped turn this whole thing around again to win a world championship and then turned it around again from a 5-11 to an 11-5 team. These are great people.
"I have to also make sure I thank players. It's players, good players who work that put coaches in great positions. I can't name them all, but there's a few that I need to thank. I believe it starts up front. It's a type of team I want to put together. It starts up front. There's a great player who will probably be a Hall of Famer, that's Warren Sapp. I had a great relationship with Warren. I want to thank Warren for how hard he's worked and the type of player he is. The key, and it's a big key, is that he was a Pro Bowler, he was an MVP of the league, a Hall of Famer, but the most important thing is he was a World Champion. I'm not interested in Pro Bowl players. I'm interested in championship players. That's what I'm interested in, and that's what I'm going to get. Simeon Rice over at Tampa Bay, same idea, same thing - Pro Bowl player, but World Champion. These are guys I've been involved with. I'm going to miss a few of those guys I've coached in terms of names. They understand that. Derrick Brooks, great leader. John Lynch, great leader. Mike Alstott - those are the type of men I've been around in Tampa Bay. I want to thank them and all the other men up front that I've worked with. That's important. I want to thank the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Glazer family for giving me the opportunity. It's a great organization.
"After the thank you's, what am I going to bring? Who am I? I have a background of building. Every program I've been with from start to finish - I've had a chance to build in college and obviously in Tampa Bay. That's been important to me. I've been the assistant head football coach in three of those programs, and that has prepared me to be a head football coach. I understand how to build. I've been around those types of men. It probably started in college for me at Utah State University under Bruce Snyder who's a tremendous builder in terms of programs. All these men I've worked for had unique ways to build within their personalities, and I learned from each one about practice, tempo and being demanding. You know exactly what you want. John Robinson, that was kind of a turnaround his second time coming back, seeing how he did it. Tony Dungy in Tampa Bay took a program with concepts, with beliefs, with fundamentals, the things that we believe in, and was consistent. Like I said, taking that to the top with Coach Gruden, we won a world championship. The key I think is that we did it again; we went from a 5-11 team two years ago to an 11-5 team - which I take my hat off to Coach Gruden and that staff.
"Some of the key points in how you get this thing going - it's the untalented issues that I'm really interested in. There's talent in this league. Everybody has talent. The issue is how hard we are willing to play, fundamentals, details and learning to finish everything we start as a football team. None of that takes any talent. We all can do that in this room. We all can do that. No talent is needed. It's just a collective attitude of men who want to go to work. And that's going to be important to me. Now, it's easy for any man to stand up here and say this and say that. That's not me and that's not what I'm about. I think it's important to understand it. Football always has been a 'show me' game. Sometimes there's too much talk. It's about time to show. That's all we have to do: work and show. It's about putting great tape out everyday in practice. What does our tape tell to our coaches to our players, our players to our coaches, and me to Matt (Millen) and to our owner. That's all we have is our tape and how we play. That's who we are. And that would define me.
"I know we have to get to work on offense. I have to find the right offensive coordinator, but I have some strong beliefs in those areas about being physical. Like I said, it starts up front. It starts on both sides of the ball. I want to have a great offensive line, physical. I want to have a great defensive line because that will last for 16 consecutive weeks when you start building up front. Obviously every position is important, but that's where I'll focus. I'm going to find the right offensive coordinator, not by reputation but by film. I want to watch his film. That's how I like to be introduced to men in the game of football. I watch their film because ultimately that's who you are. Ultimately, that's how you'll grade me and that's how you should grade me - what I'll produce. I'll leave it at that. And now if I can answer questions for you, fairly short and fairly direct, I'll be happy to do that. "
On why he feels that he is in a position to succeed: "I understand men. I've been in that role as an assistant head coach, and I've been in organizations that at one time were down like Tampa Bay as we walked in. I've seen it from the ground level and then part of it is how you build, how you develop players and how you practice. I understand that. I want to take every man here on this team and coach every man as a starter first of all. You respect every man who puts his cleats on, and you coach him like a starter. It's a philosophy and a belief on how you do things. Tempo is big for me. It starts in practice. I have to change habits maybe, and that's okay. That's why I feel so strongly about it."
On why he is 56 and this is his first head coaching job: "Matt (Millen) is pretty smart. That's the first thing I'll say, I think he's very bright. Throughout my career I've had some opportunities and some of those were denied, and that's part of football. I take responsibility for my career. I believe you kind of pound the rock. You just keep going at it and going at it and keep putting out good tape, taking care of my plays, producing good football players and winning. That's what you eventually like to be known for, those things. Not to come out and tell people what they want to hear. I'm not going to do that. Look at my tape, that's who I am."
On what he thinks he did to sell himself to get this job: "I was myself. That's what I did. It's just what I'm telling you, that's what I am, nothing more, nothing less.
On how much research he did on the organization before he came here: "I don't think you look backwards. I just don't do that. I'm right here right now. Starting, that's where I'm at. You reflect back, see the history, but now you move on. The issue now is what we do at this point. It's not about anything out there. The issue is us and how we're going to move on at this point. Take the men, find the right staff - we have good players here. There are good players on every team in the NFL. You just have to get good players to play good."
On what he can do to reconstruct things here: "We played them last year and we were very impressed with them. We hung on to beat them; it was a tough game for us. I keep saying talent, everybody has it. You have to get it to play. That's the key. I see a team that has good players. My job now is to get good players to play good and create an environment to grow. My direction will be one voice in this building. There is one voice for discipline: mine. There is one voice in leadership: mine. I'll coach coaches. There will be accountability at all stops in that building, and that's how you start growing."
On how he feels about the QB situation here: "I want to come in and have a chance to evaluate it all. I think that it's important that the men that I hire first, we'll all sit together. I know a couple of men; I'm not naming names, which are extremely excited about the situation at quarterback. That will be discussed at a later time."
On what kind of offensive philosophy he plans to have: "As I interview (for my staff), I want to be physical. That's my style. I want to be able to run the ball with power and defend it with power. Obviously, with the type of receivers we have here, you'd like to stretch the field. So I'm looking for men who have done that in their background on tape. That's what I'd like to do.
On if he meant quarterback players or coaches who want to coach the quarterbacks here when he mentioned men that were excited about the QB situation: "A little bit of both."
On if he has ever had a relationship with a quarterback: "I've had great relationships with quarterbacks throughout my career because I'm always hunting them. Eric Hipple, I was very close to him at Utah State. I loved his toughness. Brad Johnson when he was in Tampa. I loved Brad Johnson. I admired him because of his toughness. They both were good men that I've been around with great leadership ability, which I bring to the table. I want to be able to sit and lead a team. You're not a thrower basically, you're going to manage a game and lead a team. Sometimes that's a forgotten thing at that position. That's what I'll be able to help that quarterback with, with that offensive coordinator."
On what he thinks about QB Joey Harrington: "I'd like to sit down and visit with him first. It would be unfair to have a thought without talking to him."
On his theory in developing young players: "I love coaching young players, and it starts with a staff that understands how to teach, how to develop, proper drill work, construction of drills, how demanding it has to be, what we're looking for and how it fits to the entire system and the scheme. That's been my background, the development of players. I coach every man like a starter. Once you feel like that, you have a chance to grow. That's a strength of mine and that's exciting for me. I want to find men who will do that."
On the learning curve from being a position coach to being a head coach: "I think the thing in between it, being the assistant head coach, that's been a key. I've been fortunate. Coach Gruden has done a great job with me in allowing me to have a lot of interaction with the team and directing the team. I've been involved in the practice schedules and all those things. I've done that with Bruce Snyder. I've trained to be a head football coach and that's exciting for me."
On what it means to be an assistant head coach in terms of responsibilities: "There was a lot more direct interaction with the team, scheduling and things like that that you are aware of. Sometimes when you are just on one side of the ball you don't get an opportunity to see the whole picture. Whatever that title is or however somebody could perceive it I could care less. It's what I got out of it. That's the important thing. And I got a lot out of it."
On personnel and draft day with President Matt Millen: "We're going to have a great relationship. We've already had a great opportunity to talk and I met the personnel people. I'm extremely impressed with how organized they were; I mean I was impressed. I came from a situation where it was good too. I want football character too. The measurable things, everybody understands that. But I understand football character. Warren Sapp had football character. Guys who love football and want to be a champion, I've been around that so I know what to look for. We talked at length about it and we'll be on the same page. That's him (Millen) too, that's who he is. (He has) a passion about guys who just love football, guys who love it and want to play every down. They'll finish games for you. They'll fight for you in the right environment."
On if he can spot guys on tape and realize that they don't have what he's looking for and what are the characteristics that he is looking for: "First of all, I always want to give every man the benefit of the doubt. I'll see them on tape and it may not fit me on tape, but I just think a strength is to motivate him and explain to him exactly what I want. That is the confusion sometimes for players. I'm a good communicator. I'm very clear with my statements and my standards. I'm going to set standards for the men to reach. Now, I have to see that man grow, and once he grows, then he'll have an opportunity to play. If he resists, then he has problems."
On if the organization has to take a step backward before moving forward in the building process: "I think when you talk about building, it's attitude. The things that I am talking about are extremely hard to do. You have to change habits with men; how you do things, how you work, how you practice, how much you enjoy practicing in pads because it's good for you and be able to sell that as a skill development thing. I believe pads and work is good. It's good for football. I'd rather have a team maybe a little bit tired and low than maybe too high and fresh. You have to explain those things."
On what he has seen from the Detroit offensive line on tape: "I'm going to tell you, for our game in Tampa for the fourth game of the year, I was impressed with them. I believe in this in terms of the offensive line; they are all pretty equal throughout the league. You get the superstars but it's not the individual. It's a collective group of men willing to work together. That's what starts to separate all of this. I've seen them. That's what they are showing me, who they are right now on tape. I'll evaluate that as well as the quarterback position. That's the first introduction to me, and now we have a chance to move on."
On what he thinks about what he's seen on tape so far from QB Joey Harrington: "The thing that would be unfair is that I don't know exactly what he was being taught and asked to do. That would be unfair. What I do see is a talent. He's got a great arm, good feet, good awareness and quickness. It would be unfair to do any more than have a chance to sit with him and coach every man like a starter. That's the best way I can answer that."
On how Tampa made such quick turnarounds in terms of record when the personnel of the team stayed pretty much in tact: "I think it's the untalented issues. You can make this team better right now if you play harder than you've ever played in your life, you understand details, you stay on the details, you know what to do and you'll start learning to finish every snap, every rep in the weight room, every practice and every detail. Those things you can grow. If you've not done that well enough and you start doing it, you're better. You're better everyday. You start improving immediately because we have talent. Talent is not going to be the issue in this league all the time. It's the talent that plays good. There are great defensive linemen in this league talent-wise, but not all of them play good. It's maximizing every man, developing every man to be as good as they have to be. That's my job and the job of the staff. The staff and I will be accountable for their actions."
On what it does for his confidence that he was Millen's choice: "I've got confidence. I don't need anybody else to instill that confidence in me. That's who I am. I believe. My background has been that. So I feel very strong. I know who I am. I've tried to explain it to you today, who I am, very clearly. I'll repeat that again. I understand who I am and the direction I'm going. I'm confident in that. I want to get a group of coaches, which believe the same way I do, off their tape and then we'll move forward."
On if the Lions will make it to the playoffs next year: "That's a great question. Like I stated earlier, it's a show me game. I'm tired of talking. I think there's too much talk. Too much 'hey this is me; this is what I'm going to do.' I don't believe in that. I stated that earlier. It's a show me game. It's what I'm going to put on tape. You just start talking to talk and it's too much of it. Just start putting the pads on and do work and let our film talk and let the fans see what we're trying to do. The passion, the energy and the belief in winning, that's been my background and that's how I've done it."
On if the team will make the playoffs next year: "That's a good question. Again, I'm going to answer it the same way. We are going to go out and work to do that. We will go out and work. That's the goal, obviously, as you state that. That's a private conversation with out football team as I talk to them about what I want and how we'll do it. But you set the groundwork. Everything is the groundwork that has to be set to reach that goal."
On why the media and fans should believe that they will make the playoffs when they didn't make the playoffs last year when they were expected to: "Because I think, in this league, you have to produce every Sunday. It's every Sunday. It's every snap. That's what has to be done. Nobody knows, I can't predict that next snap. All I can work to is to create the base for the next snap and a foundation for that next snap."
On how his service in Vietnam shaped him: "You know what I'll talk about? There are certain parts you put in a closet. I'm not John Wayne or anything like that. I did what I was supposed to do. The one thing I take from it is that I understand a different type of discipline. Discipline is not a coat where you come in the office and you put your discipline coat on and you put it in the closet and you walk home. It's an all the time thing. It's all the time. It's how you do things. It's kind of how you live. I have a real appreciation for a chain of command. I have a real appreciation for that. I have a tremendous respect for every man in the military, tremendous, and I admire them."
On if he was in the infantry: "Yes."
On how he is going to sell the team on practicing in pads a lot more when they haven't really practiced in pads longer than the first month of the season for the past five years: "That's a great question. I believe in morale. Probably, morale may be the No. 1 issue in this league - good morale. Don't think the pads are something that we're going to punish you with. I don't believe that. I believe that is the best way to develop your skill. Offensive line, d-line, running backs, everything you have to do in this game. It's not about punishing men. When a man can see individual improvement and think 'I'm getting better and I'm improving my skill,' it's the same as… I'm not a golfer, but if you're golfing there's skill involved. There's skill in shooting a basketball. There's skill in hitting a baseball. There's skill in hitting (in football); how to bend your knees, hand placement, blocking, footwork, all those things. And you have to play this game low to be good. It's a low man's game. It's a game of hips when you tackle, not push and shove. When you're standing up all the time, you lose that leverage and you lose that toughness in terms of running the game. That's how I'm going to sell it because I have to explain to them that this is why I'm doing this. This is what I believe and I've been successful at it. I'll put the film on for you. That's all I can do. You will be great football players when you work and you believe in the pad level and those things. Is it always fun? No, but winning is. It's not like I am taking these guys to Junction City and getting after them (laughter). I just believe in skill, the development of skill. You have to be hard, and along with being hard is being smart, and I am that."
On what he can tell fans about what is going to be different under his realm: "Well one is going to be myself, who I am. It's a team that will play extremely hard and smart. My goal is not to beat ourselves. The first rule to winning: don't beat yourself. You have to have the men involved in that and understanding what I'm talking about. I want a team that's going to be in great physical condition that can play all four quarters, to be able to end the game with a great running game or be a strong fourth quarter pass rush football team that can tackle, be physical, and will play one snap at a time. Everybody throws that word out. I know how to teach. The team will play one snap at a time all the way through a game and compete. That starts, not on Sunday, it starts in practice. It starts… there is a great weight program here; I am very impressed with it. It starts in the weight program, in competing every day, finishing every rep and doing what you are supposed to do. The first rule to getting better: show up. Show up mentally and physically, both. You are going to have a team that's going to be hard, physical and it will finish. We will do that."
On what he thinks has been missing here: "I would just be giving something off the top of my head. I'm just trying to tell you what I'm going to bring. That's the most important thing. I'm telling you what I'm bringing, I explained it clearly, and that's the direction I'm going. I just may do things a little bit differently, but that's how I've been trained and that's the success that I've had, with that direction."
On what his attitude is toward "diva" like players: "That group that I'm coming from after all those years, if you followed, you know what they're about. I just believe you coach each man independently. You have to spend time and show him how good he can be. 'This is how good I believe you can be.' Then you have to give him direction, standards and expectations. The thing I learned from coach Dungy that just burns in my mind; 'we have no excuses or explanations, we just have standards.' I have to get each man to understand the standard I have for him. I don't change personalities. These guys are men, who they are and what they bring. What I like to do is, when we go on that field, all we need is the same intensity and focus to be great. That takes time. That takes communication and exactly what I want."
On what his first order of business is for the next couple of weeks: "Coaching staff, No. 1, because they reflect who I am to our team. That is by far No. 1. Have a chance to go down and evaluate talent also. That's important. I've got to get the right men in place that are teachers, that have demonstrated they can teach, demand and motivate all at the same time. There's one thing about being just demanding, but without motivating it doesn't work, because then it becomes distance between a coach and a player. I want to embrace the players and show them how good they can and should be, so the staff is critical to me."
Marinelli Presser (Long)
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LIONS PRESIDENT AND CEO MATT MILLEN
Opening Statement: "Good morning. First of all, thanks everyone for coming out today. We appreciate that. I kind of just want to give you a little background as to how we've gotten to this point because it's been a long journey. We had a chance the last time with these guys up front. We told you we'd take our time and be patient, and we'd be aggressively patient. And I think we've done that. It's been a while now. This whole process started a while back and really right after Thanksgiving. There's a lot of work that went into it. There was a lot of fact finding. There was a lot of background work. There were a lot of things to get done, which we did. Then we moved on to the candidates, and I thought the candidates that were chosen and that we interviewed were phenomenal. We had a great group. I was very impressed with all of them. I enjoyed talking football with all of them. They all had very definitive ideas. They all had clear visions and a way to do things. It was a learning experience for me and it was well appreciated. We took that route, and we stayed with it.
"We knew there was a process and there was an end to get to. I think the most important thing is that we knew what we were looking for. We knew what this football team is and what we need. The man that I'm going to introduce to you I think best has those qualities. To me it comes down to a few things. It has to be leadership, and it has to be passion. It has to be a willingness to get to work and get this thing done because we have a lot of work. We have a lot of work to get done here. I believe we have the people who want to get that work done. It was thorough. Like I said, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed everyone of them. The guys we brought in we had a chance to speak to, it was good. It was a good learning experience, I think for both sides. Without anymore being said, I'd like to introduce the head coach of the Detroit Lions: Rod Marinelli. Congratulations coach."
LIONS HEAD COACH ROD MARINELLI
Opening Statement: "Good morning. There's just a couple of points; I'll be fairly short and direct. First of all I'd like to thank Mr. Ford and Matt (Millen) for this opportunity to lead the Detroit Lions. I appreciate that. I want to make a point to thank my family, my wife Barbara, my two daughters both football girls Christine and Gina. And for the men that I worked for and played for I'd like to take a second and make sure I thank them. My high school coaches are very important to me, Don Porter, Coach Jim Ellis and my college coach, Coach Shoup. And then there are men I worked for who have been important to me in my growth and my career. There's Bruce Snyder, I had a chance to work with him in three different programs. I worked for Joe Kapp, a tremendous man. John Robinson at USC, great man. Tony Dungy who brought me into the NFL. In terms of Tampa Bay; two great friends I have there: Lovie Smith who I kind of grew up in this profession with, he's one of my best friends; Monte Kiffin, defensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who I have an unbelievable respect for. He's one of the great ones in this league. Coach Jon Gruden who helped turn this whole thing around again to win a world championship and then turned it around again from a 5-11 to an 11-5 team. These are great people.
"I have to also make sure I thank players. It's players, good players who work that put coaches in great positions. I can't name them all, but there's a few that I need to thank. I believe it starts up front. It's a type of team I want to put together. It starts up front. There's a great player who will probably be a Hall of Famer, that's Warren Sapp. I had a great relationship with Warren. I want to thank Warren for how hard he's worked and the type of player he is. The key, and it's a big key, is that he was a Pro Bowler, he was an MVP of the league, a Hall of Famer, but the most important thing is he was a World Champion. I'm not interested in Pro Bowl players. I'm interested in championship players. That's what I'm interested in, and that's what I'm going to get. Simeon Rice over at Tampa Bay, same idea, same thing - Pro Bowl player, but World Champion. These are guys I've been involved with. I'm going to miss a few of those guys I've coached in terms of names. They understand that. Derrick Brooks, great leader. John Lynch, great leader. Mike Alstott - those are the type of men I've been around in Tampa Bay. I want to thank them and all the other men up front that I've worked with. That's important. I want to thank the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Glazer family for giving me the opportunity. It's a great organization.
"After the thank you's, what am I going to bring? Who am I? I have a background of building. Every program I've been with from start to finish - I've had a chance to build in college and obviously in Tampa Bay. That's been important to me. I've been the assistant head football coach in three of those programs, and that has prepared me to be a head football coach. I understand how to build. I've been around those types of men. It probably started in college for me at Utah State University under Bruce Snyder who's a tremendous builder in terms of programs. All these men I've worked for had unique ways to build within their personalities, and I learned from each one about practice, tempo and being demanding. You know exactly what you want. John Robinson, that was kind of a turnaround his second time coming back, seeing how he did it. Tony Dungy in Tampa Bay took a program with concepts, with beliefs, with fundamentals, the things that we believe in, and was consistent. Like I said, taking that to the top with Coach Gruden, we won a world championship. The key I think is that we did it again; we went from a 5-11 team two years ago to an 11-5 team - which I take my hat off to Coach Gruden and that staff.
"Some of the key points in how you get this thing going - it's the untalented issues that I'm really interested in. There's talent in this league. Everybody has talent. The issue is how hard we are willing to play, fundamentals, details and learning to finish everything we start as a football team. None of that takes any talent. We all can do that in this room. We all can do that. No talent is needed. It's just a collective attitude of men who want to go to work. And that's going to be important to me. Now, it's easy for any man to stand up here and say this and say that. That's not me and that's not what I'm about. I think it's important to understand it. Football always has been a 'show me' game. Sometimes there's too much talk. It's about time to show. That's all we have to do: work and show. It's about putting great tape out everyday in practice. What does our tape tell to our coaches to our players, our players to our coaches, and me to Matt (Millen) and to our owner. That's all we have is our tape and how we play. That's who we are. And that would define me.
"I know we have to get to work on offense. I have to find the right offensive coordinator, but I have some strong beliefs in those areas about being physical. Like I said, it starts up front. It starts on both sides of the ball. I want to have a great offensive line, physical. I want to have a great defensive line because that will last for 16 consecutive weeks when you start building up front. Obviously every position is important, but that's where I'll focus. I'm going to find the right offensive coordinator, not by reputation but by film. I want to watch his film. That's how I like to be introduced to men in the game of football. I watch their film because ultimately that's who you are. Ultimately, that's how you'll grade me and that's how you should grade me - what I'll produce. I'll leave it at that. And now if I can answer questions for you, fairly short and fairly direct, I'll be happy to do that. "
On why he feels that he is in a position to succeed: "I understand men. I've been in that role as an assistant head coach, and I've been in organizations that at one time were down like Tampa Bay as we walked in. I've seen it from the ground level and then part of it is how you build, how you develop players and how you practice. I understand that. I want to take every man here on this team and coach every man as a starter first of all. You respect every man who puts his cleats on, and you coach him like a starter. It's a philosophy and a belief on how you do things. Tempo is big for me. It starts in practice. I have to change habits maybe, and that's okay. That's why I feel so strongly about it."
On why he is 56 and this is his first head coaching job: "Matt (Millen) is pretty smart. That's the first thing I'll say, I think he's very bright. Throughout my career I've had some opportunities and some of those were denied, and that's part of football. I take responsibility for my career. I believe you kind of pound the rock. You just keep going at it and going at it and keep putting out good tape, taking care of my plays, producing good football players and winning. That's what you eventually like to be known for, those things. Not to come out and tell people what they want to hear. I'm not going to do that. Look at my tape, that's who I am."
On what he thinks he did to sell himself to get this job: "I was myself. That's what I did. It's just what I'm telling you, that's what I am, nothing more, nothing less.
On how much research he did on the organization before he came here: "I don't think you look backwards. I just don't do that. I'm right here right now. Starting, that's where I'm at. You reflect back, see the history, but now you move on. The issue now is what we do at this point. It's not about anything out there. The issue is us and how we're going to move on at this point. Take the men, find the right staff - we have good players here. There are good players on every team in the NFL. You just have to get good players to play good."
On what he can do to reconstruct things here: "We played them last year and we were very impressed with them. We hung on to beat them; it was a tough game for us. I keep saying talent, everybody has it. You have to get it to play. That's the key. I see a team that has good players. My job now is to get good players to play good and create an environment to grow. My direction will be one voice in this building. There is one voice for discipline: mine. There is one voice in leadership: mine. I'll coach coaches. There will be accountability at all stops in that building, and that's how you start growing."
On how he feels about the QB situation here: "I want to come in and have a chance to evaluate it all. I think that it's important that the men that I hire first, we'll all sit together. I know a couple of men; I'm not naming names, which are extremely excited about the situation at quarterback. That will be discussed at a later time."
On what kind of offensive philosophy he plans to have: "As I interview (for my staff), I want to be physical. That's my style. I want to be able to run the ball with power and defend it with power. Obviously, with the type of receivers we have here, you'd like to stretch the field. So I'm looking for men who have done that in their background on tape. That's what I'd like to do.
On if he meant quarterback players or coaches who want to coach the quarterbacks here when he mentioned men that were excited about the QB situation: "A little bit of both."
On if he has ever had a relationship with a quarterback: "I've had great relationships with quarterbacks throughout my career because I'm always hunting them. Eric Hipple, I was very close to him at Utah State. I loved his toughness. Brad Johnson when he was in Tampa. I loved Brad Johnson. I admired him because of his toughness. They both were good men that I've been around with great leadership ability, which I bring to the table. I want to be able to sit and lead a team. You're not a thrower basically, you're going to manage a game and lead a team. Sometimes that's a forgotten thing at that position. That's what I'll be able to help that quarterback with, with that offensive coordinator."
On what he thinks about QB Joey Harrington: "I'd like to sit down and visit with him first. It would be unfair to have a thought without talking to him."
On his theory in developing young players: "I love coaching young players, and it starts with a staff that understands how to teach, how to develop, proper drill work, construction of drills, how demanding it has to be, what we're looking for and how it fits to the entire system and the scheme. That's been my background, the development of players. I coach every man like a starter. Once you feel like that, you have a chance to grow. That's a strength of mine and that's exciting for me. I want to find men who will do that."
On the learning curve from being a position coach to being a head coach: "I think the thing in between it, being the assistant head coach, that's been a key. I've been fortunate. Coach Gruden has done a great job with me in allowing me to have a lot of interaction with the team and directing the team. I've been involved in the practice schedules and all those things. I've done that with Bruce Snyder. I've trained to be a head football coach and that's exciting for me."
On what it means to be an assistant head coach in terms of responsibilities: "There was a lot more direct interaction with the team, scheduling and things like that that you are aware of. Sometimes when you are just on one side of the ball you don't get an opportunity to see the whole picture. Whatever that title is or however somebody could perceive it I could care less. It's what I got out of it. That's the important thing. And I got a lot out of it."
On personnel and draft day with President Matt Millen: "We're going to have a great relationship. We've already had a great opportunity to talk and I met the personnel people. I'm extremely impressed with how organized they were; I mean I was impressed. I came from a situation where it was good too. I want football character too. The measurable things, everybody understands that. But I understand football character. Warren Sapp had football character. Guys who love football and want to be a champion, I've been around that so I know what to look for. We talked at length about it and we'll be on the same page. That's him (Millen) too, that's who he is. (He has) a passion about guys who just love football, guys who love it and want to play every down. They'll finish games for you. They'll fight for you in the right environment."
On if he can spot guys on tape and realize that they don't have what he's looking for and what are the characteristics that he is looking for: "First of all, I always want to give every man the benefit of the doubt. I'll see them on tape and it may not fit me on tape, but I just think a strength is to motivate him and explain to him exactly what I want. That is the confusion sometimes for players. I'm a good communicator. I'm very clear with my statements and my standards. I'm going to set standards for the men to reach. Now, I have to see that man grow, and once he grows, then he'll have an opportunity to play. If he resists, then he has problems."
On if the organization has to take a step backward before moving forward in the building process: "I think when you talk about building, it's attitude. The things that I am talking about are extremely hard to do. You have to change habits with men; how you do things, how you work, how you practice, how much you enjoy practicing in pads because it's good for you and be able to sell that as a skill development thing. I believe pads and work is good. It's good for football. I'd rather have a team maybe a little bit tired and low than maybe too high and fresh. You have to explain those things."
On what he has seen from the Detroit offensive line on tape: "I'm going to tell you, for our game in Tampa for the fourth game of the year, I was impressed with them. I believe in this in terms of the offensive line; they are all pretty equal throughout the league. You get the superstars but it's not the individual. It's a collective group of men willing to work together. That's what starts to separate all of this. I've seen them. That's what they are showing me, who they are right now on tape. I'll evaluate that as well as the quarterback position. That's the first introduction to me, and now we have a chance to move on."
On what he thinks about what he's seen on tape so far from QB Joey Harrington: "The thing that would be unfair is that I don't know exactly what he was being taught and asked to do. That would be unfair. What I do see is a talent. He's got a great arm, good feet, good awareness and quickness. It would be unfair to do any more than have a chance to sit with him and coach every man like a starter. That's the best way I can answer that."
On how Tampa made such quick turnarounds in terms of record when the personnel of the team stayed pretty much in tact: "I think it's the untalented issues. You can make this team better right now if you play harder than you've ever played in your life, you understand details, you stay on the details, you know what to do and you'll start learning to finish every snap, every rep in the weight room, every practice and every detail. Those things you can grow. If you've not done that well enough and you start doing it, you're better. You're better everyday. You start improving immediately because we have talent. Talent is not going to be the issue in this league all the time. It's the talent that plays good. There are great defensive linemen in this league talent-wise, but not all of them play good. It's maximizing every man, developing every man to be as good as they have to be. That's my job and the job of the staff. The staff and I will be accountable for their actions."
On what it does for his confidence that he was Millen's choice: "I've got confidence. I don't need anybody else to instill that confidence in me. That's who I am. I believe. My background has been that. So I feel very strong. I know who I am. I've tried to explain it to you today, who I am, very clearly. I'll repeat that again. I understand who I am and the direction I'm going. I'm confident in that. I want to get a group of coaches, which believe the same way I do, off their tape and then we'll move forward."
On if the Lions will make it to the playoffs next year: "That's a great question. Like I stated earlier, it's a show me game. I'm tired of talking. I think there's too much talk. Too much 'hey this is me; this is what I'm going to do.' I don't believe in that. I stated that earlier. It's a show me game. It's what I'm going to put on tape. You just start talking to talk and it's too much of it. Just start putting the pads on and do work and let our film talk and let the fans see what we're trying to do. The passion, the energy and the belief in winning, that's been my background and that's how I've done it."
On if the team will make the playoffs next year: "That's a good question. Again, I'm going to answer it the same way. We are going to go out and work to do that. We will go out and work. That's the goal, obviously, as you state that. That's a private conversation with out football team as I talk to them about what I want and how we'll do it. But you set the groundwork. Everything is the groundwork that has to be set to reach that goal."
On why the media and fans should believe that they will make the playoffs when they didn't make the playoffs last year when they were expected to: "Because I think, in this league, you have to produce every Sunday. It's every Sunday. It's every snap. That's what has to be done. Nobody knows, I can't predict that next snap. All I can work to is to create the base for the next snap and a foundation for that next snap."
On how his service in Vietnam shaped him: "You know what I'll talk about? There are certain parts you put in a closet. I'm not John Wayne or anything like that. I did what I was supposed to do. The one thing I take from it is that I understand a different type of discipline. Discipline is not a coat where you come in the office and you put your discipline coat on and you put it in the closet and you walk home. It's an all the time thing. It's all the time. It's how you do things. It's kind of how you live. I have a real appreciation for a chain of command. I have a real appreciation for that. I have a tremendous respect for every man in the military, tremendous, and I admire them."
On if he was in the infantry: "Yes."
On how he is going to sell the team on practicing in pads a lot more when they haven't really practiced in pads longer than the first month of the season for the past five years: "That's a great question. I believe in morale. Probably, morale may be the No. 1 issue in this league - good morale. Don't think the pads are something that we're going to punish you with. I don't believe that. I believe that is the best way to develop your skill. Offensive line, d-line, running backs, everything you have to do in this game. It's not about punishing men. When a man can see individual improvement and think 'I'm getting better and I'm improving my skill,' it's the same as… I'm not a golfer, but if you're golfing there's skill involved. There's skill in shooting a basketball. There's skill in hitting a baseball. There's skill in hitting (in football); how to bend your knees, hand placement, blocking, footwork, all those things. And you have to play this game low to be good. It's a low man's game. It's a game of hips when you tackle, not push and shove. When you're standing up all the time, you lose that leverage and you lose that toughness in terms of running the game. That's how I'm going to sell it because I have to explain to them that this is why I'm doing this. This is what I believe and I've been successful at it. I'll put the film on for you. That's all I can do. You will be great football players when you work and you believe in the pad level and those things. Is it always fun? No, but winning is. It's not like I am taking these guys to Junction City and getting after them (laughter). I just believe in skill, the development of skill. You have to be hard, and along with being hard is being smart, and I am that."
On what he can tell fans about what is going to be different under his realm: "Well one is going to be myself, who I am. It's a team that will play extremely hard and smart. My goal is not to beat ourselves. The first rule to winning: don't beat yourself. You have to have the men involved in that and understanding what I'm talking about. I want a team that's going to be in great physical condition that can play all four quarters, to be able to end the game with a great running game or be a strong fourth quarter pass rush football team that can tackle, be physical, and will play one snap at a time. Everybody throws that word out. I know how to teach. The team will play one snap at a time all the way through a game and compete. That starts, not on Sunday, it starts in practice. It starts… there is a great weight program here; I am very impressed with it. It starts in the weight program, in competing every day, finishing every rep and doing what you are supposed to do. The first rule to getting better: show up. Show up mentally and physically, both. You are going to have a team that's going to be hard, physical and it will finish. We will do that."
On what he thinks has been missing here: "I would just be giving something off the top of my head. I'm just trying to tell you what I'm going to bring. That's the most important thing. I'm telling you what I'm bringing, I explained it clearly, and that's the direction I'm going. I just may do things a little bit differently, but that's how I've been trained and that's the success that I've had, with that direction."
On what his attitude is toward "diva" like players: "That group that I'm coming from after all those years, if you followed, you know what they're about. I just believe you coach each man independently. You have to spend time and show him how good he can be. 'This is how good I believe you can be.' Then you have to give him direction, standards and expectations. The thing I learned from coach Dungy that just burns in my mind; 'we have no excuses or explanations, we just have standards.' I have to get each man to understand the standard I have for him. I don't change personalities. These guys are men, who they are and what they bring. What I like to do is, when we go on that field, all we need is the same intensity and focus to be great. That takes time. That takes communication and exactly what I want."
On what his first order of business is for the next couple of weeks: "Coaching staff, No. 1, because they reflect who I am to our team. That is by far No. 1. Have a chance to go down and evaluate talent also. That's important. I've got to get the right men in place that are teachers, that have demonstrated they can teach, demand and motivate all at the same time. There's one thing about being just demanding, but without motivating it doesn't work, because then it becomes distance between a coach and a player. I want to embrace the players and show them how good they can and should be, so the staff is critical to me."
yooperfan
Cheesehead
Re: Rod Marinelli finalizing deal to be Lion's head coa
Wow!
For such a long drawn out statement by Matt Millen, he said nothing which shows me how useless he is.
For coach ?????????? keeping it short????????
The Lions will be just as confused as they have been for the last 48 years.
Bring back Harry " the hat " Gilmer.
Good luck with that GM / Coach combination Lion fans.
Wow!
For such a long drawn out statement by Matt Millen, he said nothing which shows me how useless he is.
For coach ?????????? keeping it short????????
The Lions will be just as confused as they have been for the last 48 years.
Bring back Harry " the hat " Gilmer.
Good luck with that GM / Coach combination Lion fans.
Re: Rod Marinelli finalizing deal to be Lion's head coa
Head Coach Rod Marinelli Respected by Many Around the NFL
Quotes Regarding the New Lions Head Coach from Previous Friends, Coaches and Players
January 19, 2005
The Lions named former Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant head coach/defensive line coach Rod Marinelli as their new head coach. A few of the NFL's coaches and players extend their congratulations to Marinelli for his previous dedication, commitment and future as the head coach of the Detroit Lions.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS HEAD COACH JON GRUDEN
>> Statement on Marinelli
“We are very happy for Rod. He is a great coach and we are really going to miss him. The Detroit Lions are getting a heck of a football coach.â€
Head Coach Rod Marinelli Respected by Many Around the NFL
Quotes Regarding the New Lions Head Coach from Previous Friends, Coaches and Players
January 19, 2005
The Lions named former Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant head coach/defensive line coach Rod Marinelli as their new head coach. A few of the NFL's coaches and players extend their congratulations to Marinelli for his previous dedication, commitment and future as the head coach of the Detroit Lions.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS HEAD COACH JON GRUDEN
>> Statement on Marinelli
“We are very happy for Rod. He is a great coach and we are really going to miss him. The Detroit Lions are getting a heck of a football coach.â€
arrowgargantuan
Cheesehead
Re: Rod Marinelli finalizing deal to be Lion's head coa
woooaaah...easy there tough guy.
tromadz said:
woooaaah...easy there tough guy.
Re: Rod Marinelli finalizing deal to be Lion's head coa
Watch the 22 video on the site. He didn't seem awkward to me. He seemed very sure of himself and that he had a plan for this team.
detroitlions.com
Watch the 22 video on the site. He didn't seem awkward to me. He seemed very sure of himself and that he had a plan for this team.
detroitlions.com
arrowgargantuan
Cheesehead
Re: Rod Marinelli finalizing deal to be Lion's head coa
oh it's on now man...meet me at the introduction board after school punk!
tromadz said:
oh it's on now man...meet me at the introduction board after school punk!
Philtration
Cheesehead
Re: Rod Marinelli finalizing deal to be Lion's head coa
Tromadz is such a ******. :moon:
Tromadz is such a ******. :moon:
NDPackerFan
Cheesehead
Re: Rod Marinelli finalizing deal to be Lion's head coa
All these press conferences (yes, including MM's) are kind of funny to me. They say a lot of words in volume but, in essence, don't really get into anything specific. Are all HC's well-versed in politics before they take the stand for their press conference?
All these press conferences (yes, including MM's) are kind of funny to me. They say a lot of words in volume but, in essence, don't really get into anything specific. Are all HC's well-versed in politics before they take the stand for their press conference?
Re: Rod Marinelli finalizing deal to be Lion's head coa
well they have to sell their product(themselves, and new schemes) to the fans, and the players. They also have to meet the press for the first time. You see all those people almost every day, and its good to get off on the right foot. Nobody wants anything negative if they can help it, and this way theres no columnist in GB who has a vendetta against MM because he pushed the guy out of the way of the buffet line.
I think most of the HCs will loosen up a bit(MM is already swearing regularly in conferences now), and become themselves, less of the politician act you're seeing now. thats my take on it anyway.
well they have to sell their product(themselves, and new schemes) to the fans, and the players. They also have to meet the press for the first time. You see all those people almost every day, and its good to get off on the right foot. Nobody wants anything negative if they can help it, and this way theres no columnist in GB who has a vendetta against MM because he pushed the guy out of the way of the buffet line.
I think most of the HCs will loosen up a bit(MM is already swearing regularly in conferences now), and become themselves, less of the politician act you're seeing now. thats my take on it anyway.
NDPackerFan
Cheesehead
Re: Rod Marinelli finalizing deal to be Lion's head coa
I understand the reason trom and I agree with what you're saying...my point is that they obviously have a plan but seldom reveal anything that it entails. Sports cliches abound without really saying much at all....
I understand the reason trom and I agree with what you're saying...my point is that they obviously have a plan but seldom reveal anything that it entails. Sports cliches abound without really saying much at all....
Aceschnd
Cheesehead
Re: Rod Marinelli finalizing deal to be Lion's head coa
So over/under what week Millen is out of a job?
So over/under what week Millen is out of a job?
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