Matt Millen has finally (and I can’t stress that enough) left his Lions President position, ending the longest running joke in pro sports

SCOTT JACOBS

It’s over. You can leave your caves, open your eyes, take the shutters off of your doors, do what you have to do.

Matt Millen is no longer running the Detroit Lions.

Today it was announced that he is leaving the team, but we all know that this was probably a kind way of saying, “I’m going to get fired, so I might as well leave.”

Any way you look at it, the embattled Lions President finally left. He’s gone. Leaving behind him, a baffling record that transcends the question, how did he last so long in the first place? Since 2001 Millen has driven the Lions into the ground. They have the worst record in the NFL since his hire, and minimal progress has been made.

He selected three wideouts in the first round in three successive drafts, but never gave the Lions the offensive line or defense they needed. Fans have tried to run him out of town for years, and have gone so far as to threatening to lynch him. Okay, so I made that one up, but it was bad. Real bad.

31-84 bad.

And finally, today, the Lions cleaned house of the man who had to go.

The Lions need a fresh start. They’re 0-3 right now, they haven’t made the playoffs since 1999, and their last division title came in 1993. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s 15 years! The Lions have had four head coaches under Millen’s watch. He started off by hiring Marty Mornhinweg,, who lasted for two seasons. Then came Steve Mariucci in 2003, till his ouster in 2005. Dick Jauron got a chance as an interim head coach, before the Lions hired current coach Rod Marinelli, who at this point, is probably the next to go.

Under Millen the Lions set a NFL record for road futility losing 24 (TWENTY FOUR) consecutive road games, or another way of putting it: three consecutive seasons of 0 for the road.

Here’s a few more highlights (I mean lowlights) from Matt Millen’s epically awful tenure as Lions President:

2001- In Millen’s first season with the team, and the last year of the Pontiac Silverdome, Detroit races out of the gate to a 0-11 start. They finished with a franchise record 14 losses.

2002- The Franchise Savior, Joey Harrington is drafted. Needless, to say, four horrible years later, Joey (like the show bearing the same name) was canceled in in the Motor City.

Lions lose their final 8 games to end the season with a terrible 3-13 record.

2003- The Lions muster eight first downs and 106 yards of total offense even with the Carolina Panthers resting five starters, and lose 20-14, breaking the Houston Oilers’ 1981-1984 mark for most consecutive road losses. Mike McMahon led the team that day with 36 passing yards.

2004- Lions start 2-0, but go 4-10 to close the year, finishing with another losing season.

2005- Joey Harrington cements status as a major bust, and Lions lose six of their final seven games to once again finish in the lower rung of the NFL.

2006- Joey Harrington comes back to Detroit only this time he’s with the Dolphins, and dismantles Detroit in a 27-10 rout on Thanksgiving. Everything the Lions do, turns to crap.

2007- Lions start out at 6-2, but fold down the stretch winning one of their last eight games. Baffled at why Matt Millen hasn’t been fired yet, Detroit fans continue to wail in despair.

2008- Millen finally leaves the team, leaving fans to proclaim, “Good Grief!”

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