02-03-2006, 06:54 PM
Sucks for you Lions fans...
The issue reportedly came down to money. Martz wanted a three-year deal worth just under $1.5 million a year, per ESPN's Chris Mortensen. The Lions wouldn't do it.
"Obviously, I took the job," Martz told The Associated Press "It just didn't work out with the money."
More evidence, in our view, that the Lions know not what they do. Martz's requested salary isn't out of line in light of his skills, experiences, and the market. The Redskins are paying Al Saunders $2 million per year on a three-year deal -- and Martz is more accomplished that Saunders.
It'd be interesting to know how close the two sides got to reaching a deal, and whether in the end the impasse was more about the egos of Matt Millen and/or agent Bob LaMonte than about the gap between the parties' respective positions.
We also wonder whether Martz would have even worked out on head coach Rod Marinelli's staff. Marinelli was hired to be a disciplinarian and play smash-mouth football. So Martz, the king of the finesse attack, was gonna run the offense?
The whole escapade is further proof that the organization is a mess. They picked a guy who didn't fit with the new approach, and then they weren't willing to pay what it took to get the guy they wanted.
Meanwhile, Marinelli says that he has yet to speak with quarterback Joey Harrington, and that he doesn't plan to do so until a new coordinator is hired. What the hell is that all about? Does Rod first need to know whether his new coordinator wants Harrington so that the head coach can decide whether to suck up to Joey or whether to brush him off?
It's stupid. It's asinine. And it bolsters, in our opinion, the talk in some circles that Marinelli will be the NFL's latest Les Steckel by the time it's all said and done.
The issue reportedly came down to money. Martz wanted a three-year deal worth just under $1.5 million a year, per ESPN's Chris Mortensen. The Lions wouldn't do it.
"Obviously, I took the job," Martz told The Associated Press "It just didn't work out with the money."
More evidence, in our view, that the Lions know not what they do. Martz's requested salary isn't out of line in light of his skills, experiences, and the market. The Redskins are paying Al Saunders $2 million per year on a three-year deal -- and Martz is more accomplished that Saunders.
It'd be interesting to know how close the two sides got to reaching a deal, and whether in the end the impasse was more about the egos of Matt Millen and/or agent Bob LaMonte than about the gap between the parties' respective positions.
We also wonder whether Martz would have even worked out on head coach Rod Marinelli's staff. Marinelli was hired to be a disciplinarian and play smash-mouth football. So Martz, the king of the finesse attack, was gonna run the offense?
The whole escapade is further proof that the organization is a mess. They picked a guy who didn't fit with the new approach, and then they weren't willing to pay what it took to get the guy they wanted.
Meanwhile, Marinelli says that he has yet to speak with quarterback Joey Harrington, and that he doesn't plan to do so until a new coordinator is hired. What the hell is that all about? Does Rod first need to know whether his new coordinator wants Harrington so that the head coach can decide whether to suck up to Joey or whether to brush him off?
It's stupid. It's asinine. And it bolsters, in our opinion, the talk in some circles that Marinelli will be the NFL's latest Les Steckel by the time it's all said and done.