As another season winds down, talk of what changes will come in the offseason begins. Already many are wondering about free agency and the draft, but something that is just as important for the Lions is the personnel aspect of things. I'm talking about everyone that works for this organization.
Of course the most popular topic in regards to personnel is whether or not Matt Millen will be back for another season with the Lions. I hate to break it to you guys, but there is absolutely no question that Millen will be back. Even if the Lions had lost out after starting 6-2, Millen still would be back, and now that this is the most successful season in the Millen era with the win over the Chiefs, it is beyond a lock for us to still be calling for him to be fired in 2008.
Moving on past Matt Millen, there is a coach that has a huge question mark on him for next season. That coach is offensive coordinator Mike Martz, who has been great at times but just as bad as well. I imagine if Martz wants to come back he will return, but is that what's best for the Lions?
I wouldn't expect the front office to tell Martz no thanks if he is open to returning, but regardless of that, I go back to the question of should he. We've seen the offense execute flawlessly at times this season where everything clicks, and trust me, the offense is fun to watch when that happens. Even though that is true some times, we had to witness the offense do absolutely nothing way too much this year.
After the 6-2 start, there were very few complaints about the offense, as there wasn't really a reason to criticize it at that time. However, as time went on and we got to the second half of the season, the offense could be summed up as a joke. Again, it had its moments where things were great, but most of the time the complete opposite is what we had the pleasure of watching.
Whether it was slow starts where points were hard to come by until it was too late or a lack of a clear gameplan, all of those things and more contributed to the Lions' offensive problems. Just look at the running game alone for most of the final 8 games and you can see there were some clear problems when the offense. Anytime a team rushes for negative yards there are definitely big problems, and considering that happened against the Cardinals, Martz should come under fire for that.
When it comes down to it, I really just am indifferent on this whole topic. If Martz does return, that's fine. I hope he finds a way to get a balanced offense to work during all 60 minutes over the entire 16-game schedule. At the same time, if Martz doesn't return, then that's fine too. Some may argue that letting someone like Martz go would be a mistake, but the offense shouldn't have been so inconsistent. I could agree that it would be a mistake if it was just a talent issue that prevented the offense from being great all the time, but part of it was Martz's fault.
Martz himself isn't saying too much about the subject of whether or not he'll return, but Jon Kitna openly is hoping he comes back. Like I already said, I don't care one way or the other.