It has been quite the struggle for the Detroit Lions over the past six decades or so as they have won just one playoff game during that time.
One of the main reasons for the Lions’ struggles over that time is the awful head coaches they have had.
From Darryl Rogers, to Marty Mornhinweg, to Rod Marinelli, to Matt Patricia, we sure have had some horrendous head coaches along the way.
But which former Lions’ head coaches ended up on “The worst NFL coaching tenures of all time” list?
Well, according to Yard Barker, just two former Lions head coaches made the cut. Those head coaches are Marty Mornhinweg (No. 12) and Rod Marinelli (No.3).
From Yard Barker:
12. Marty Mornhinweg, Detroit Lions
Prior to Mornhinweg’s 2001 Detroit arrival, the Lions went 9-7 and had made the playoffs six times in the previous 10 years. Mornhinweg started 0-12 in a season that featured a seven-INT game from QB Stoney Case, the first-year head coach deferring an OT coin toss (back when the NFL featured a true sudden-death format) in a loss in Chicago, and a brief Johnnie Morton-Jay Leno feud. The Lions drafted Joey Harrington a year later, but after a 3-13 season brought Mornhinweg’s record to 5-27, he was not deemed worthy to groom the ex-Oregon star. The Matt Millen era did not exactly improve from here, however.
3. Rod Marinelli, Detroit Lions
Marinelli’s exit marked the end of Matt Millen’s disastrous run as Lions GM — a stretch that dragged the Lions into the NFL’s basement after the team was a 1990s playoff bastion. Marinelli took over in 2006 and went 3-13. After a forgotten 7-9 showing in 2007, one of the more memorable seasons in NFL history commenced. By the end of the ’08 slate — the NFL’s first 0-16 result — the Lions had none of the three top-10 wideouts they drafted under Millen on their team, and Marinelli’s defense allowed an NFL-worst 517 points. Marinelli bounced back by assembling successful defenses in Chicago and Dallas during the 2010s.
Wait, how in the hell did Matt Patricia not make this list!?!?
