(photos courtesy of Getty Images)
I don't know enough about Tom Lewand or Martin Mayhew to comment on whether Lions owner William Clay Ford was wise to promote from within the organization, but history suggests that no one would've complained if Ford blew up the whole operation and started over.
The franchise has just 40 wins this decade, which is slightly more impressive when you consider that the total includes the recently completed 0-for-'08 run. (Not really; it works out to 5 wins a season versus 4.4 wins a season. In the salary-cap era, that blows.) Perhaps predictably, Clay decided to, as they say, stay the course and give current team employees Lewand and Mayhew shiny new titles.
Not surprisingly, the 2009 Lions look very similar to the versions that preceded it. Which is to say: unimpressive and out of sorts. Via PFT, the first post-Rod Marinelli press conference provided plenty of unintentional hilarity. Because after all, laughter -- even if accidental -- is the best medicine. Or something.
