Vince Lombardi probably rolled over in his grave on Tuesday. That’s the day the Detroit Lions hired his grandson, Joe Lombardi, as offensive coordinator.
Lombardi was the quarterbacks coach with the New Orleans Saints. He’s been in that role since 2009.
Under Lombardi, quarterback Drew Brees has thrown for more than 5,000 yards the past three seasons. How much of that is Lombardi and how much of it is Brees is debatable, but for the Lions, the hire says one thing.
They’re going to turn Butterball — Matthew Stafford to the layman — loose.
Are Detroit Lions fans excited? Well, not the one guy who openly cheers for the Lions that I know. He emailed me this.
“This will no doubt be the closet they ever get to a Lombardi (trophy). Anyway… Having never had a coordinator gig in the NFL, I hear he was quite offensive coordinator at D2 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC if you’re nasty) Mercyhurst College Lakers. Ugh… It’s like the crime in Detroit… It keeps getting worse and worse.”
Finally, KSK pointed these out yesterday and I felt they were appropriate for this post. They’re available here if you have a Lions fan in your life.