FanHouse TomHeckert

This video of Wheaton College defensive end Andy Studebaker is one of several you can find of him on YouTube.

Of course, you can find videos of just about every football player on YouTube. But in Studebaker's case, he may owe his NFL career to online videos.

After drafting Studebaker in the sixth round on Sunday, Eagles general manager Tom Heckert said this:

"Nobody ever heard of this kid, but then his workout started popping up on YouTube and next thing you know, he got super hot and everybody (in the NFL) is looking at him. If it wasn't for YouTube, he probably wouldn't have been drafted."

I'm not completely sure I buy that -- NFL teams do have rather sophisticated video departments, but YouTube sure seems to have helped.

Speculation about the future of embattled Lions Team President Matt Millen grew to a fever pitch throughout the weekend. Many local media outlets reported Saturday that Millen's firing would happen as soon as Sunday. Conflicting reports now indicate that it is not so clear when, and if, Millen will lose his job.

The Ford's can't be happy about Matt Millen's 23-68 tenure. The Lions have been so embroiled in their current self-inflicted struggles that it has become increasingly apparent that the likelihood of a turnaround during Millen's tenure is untenable. In fact, the Lions are further away from the playoffs than at any point that I can recall in my 30 years of being a fan. Furthermore, Thursday's public relations disaster (treatment of Joey Harrington) and an incredibly poor game performance have highlighted how badly the Lions leadership is managing their current situation. It is by no accident that the Lions will easily continue their 50 year drought of winning championships. The colossal mismanagement of this franchise is nearly unprecedented.

Philadelphia Eagles GM Tom Heckert has emerged a likely potential candidate. Heckert is originally from Michigan and apparently has some previous connection with the Fords. With that in mind, the Ford have to take an objective look, possibly with NFL assistance, at the abysmal state of their franchise and determine whether or not they are going to have to scrap their entire current staff and overhaul their roster and start from square one. In my eyes, this is the best plan. The Lions organization has a pall that hangs over it that will need to be completely cleansed before anyone can assume the helm, and hopefully, alter the current course of the organization.

Mlive.com's Tom "Killer" Kowalski reports today that there is increased speculation about potential replacements for Lions Team President Matt Millen. It is not beyond the realm of comprehension that if the Lions lose on the road Sunday against the Cardinals, and then follow that up with an embarrassing performance in their nationally-televised, annual Thanksgiving game against the Joey Harrington-lead Miami Dolphins (small world, eh Joey?), that an exit strategy for Millen would be devised (if he's not strung up by an angry mob first).

It has become increasingly apparent that the Lions lack the adequate personnel to win, especially within the schemes that are being implemented by new Head Coach Rod Marinelli. Millen is largely responsible for the organization's current moribund status. That being said, should the Ford's elect to replace Millen, what is the likelihood that Millen's replacement would want to follow the same course that is currently being laid out? Potential candidate Tom Heckert, currently employed in the Eagles' front office, would likely want to hire a coaching staff that he has worked with before and utilize the same offensive and defensive philosophies that the Eagles currently follow. My biggest reservation in regards to Heckert is that he is not currently in charge of personnel decisions for the Eagles. The Lions have already hired a team president who lacked adequate experience in making personnel decisions, would they make that same decision twice?

I agree with Kowalski's assertion that Millen may have to remain as an albatross around the organization's neck, at least until they are able to discern whether or not Head Coach Rod Marinelli was the right hire. Any sort of philosophical disconnect between the coaching and front office staff's would be like igniting the fuse of an organizational powder keg. In some people's eyes this would be the proper course of action, but at least at this point, I am not so certain of that.