On whether he was qualified for the job: "In some areas, yes. In some areas, no. Certainly from a football point of view, the X’s and O’s, and that’s something that you study for a long time and you understand. But there’s a whole other side to that job that you have to learn and frankly I didn’t understand going in, and I had to learn it."
On if he would have fired himself: "Yeah, I would have, actually. Probably not this year until after the season, because I think when you start having changeover in an organization, it filters down to the locker room and that’s tough to do, and I thought that that was a tough position for Rod Marinelli to be in. Rod’s a stud. I mean, Rod’s an outstanding football coach, and obviously the thing went the other way on him this year, but that’s a tough position for him."
On how close the Lions are to winning: "A lot closer than people think. I mean, right now, it’s easy to just sit around and say, ‘Oh, the Lions. They stink,’ and kick them when they’re down. But if you take a look around this league right now – in fact, we’re going to watch one today – Atlanta had four wins a year ago, one in Miami. I mean, it’s doable. Is there enough talent up there in Detroit? Absolutely. You’ve got one of the top receivers in the league right now in Calvin Johnson. You’ve got a good young running back. There’s some pieces in place in the offensive line. Defensively, do they need some help? Yeah, they need some help. But it certainly can be done."
