DETROIT – As the Detroit Lions are staring 0-16 right in the face, we must not forget who is responsible for leading them down that road of collapse.

As former team president and CEO Matt Millen sits comfortably in his home, states away in Pennsylvania, fans and the media must remember to honor him as the orchestrator of this disaster called the Lions.

Owner William Clay Ford, with the coaxing of his son, Junior, made a long overdue move after week three when he fired Millen, earning Millen the Bitch-Slap-of-the-Week award. 

Millen has long packed up and gone but like three-month-old fish, his stench remains.

That stench comes in the form of the coaching staff, blown draft picks and free agent signings Millen had pieced together over his historic record run of failure.

Millen’s Lions team is 0-14 with a game at home Sunday against the Drew Brees led New Orleans Saints and a final road game in frigid Green Bay where the Cheeseheads always play to win.

Many expect Millen to make NFL history next Sunday, surpassing the Tampa Bay Bucs 0-14 record of futility, a record that held for decades.

Things will not change in Detroit overnight. A bumper-to-bumper refurbish job needs to be done. Marinelli, who is on the verge of emotionally imploding, and the rest of the staff Millen hired needs to go, there is no doubt about that.

Joe Barry, defensive coordinator and benefiter of Detroit’s nepotism program, has managed and created the worst defense in the NFL over the past two seasons. And how sorry is it to actually hear him in yesterday’s press conference in Detroit talking about how the defense will definitely improve if returns next year.

Besides Millen, Barry may be the biggest cause of this year’s implosion. If he had half of a conscience, he would refuse his paycheck and would have resigned the week Millen got his pink slip.

Only in Detroit can a coach speak like there is any possibility of returning to the team even after a 0-16 season. Look at Millen. He was actually signed to an extension after taking a 7-9 team to 3-13 and wasting high first-round draft picks.

It looks like the Lions will be getting another No. 1 overall pick in a draft and the good news is, Matt Millen will not be the one making the selection.

In the meantime, Lions fans should plug their noses from the stench Millen has left; a stench that may linger for years to come.

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