9701020045
DETROIT FREE PRESS
970113
Monday, January 13, 1997
METRO FINAL
1C
Photo
Bobby Ross
MITCH ALBOM Free Press Sports Writer
Copyright (c) 1997, Detroit Free Press
FOR ONCE, LIONS ACT LIKE GOOD TEAM WITH ROSS
Week after week during this past football season, I would walk into ESPN
and see the grinning faces of analysts Joe Theisman and Sterling Sharpe.
"How 'bout those Lions?" they would yell, and then break up laughing.
They would shake their heads, ask me about the latest embarrassment, then
ask me to explain again how Wayne Fontes kept his job. And then they'd laugh
some more.
They are not laughing this morning. They are nodding in admiration. That
is the first thing Bobby Ross brings the Lions. He's legit. Everyone stops
laughing.
So, if you ask me, this is the day's first breaking news. Before they even
open the door for Ross and take his coat and give him a hug and welcome him to
the family, the men who run this franchise have already done one crucial
thing: they have acted like a serious, intelligent, looking-to-win NFL team.
They needed a proven coach. They needed a guy with Super Bowl experience. They
went after one. They got him.
Just like the good teams.
"We had to have someone credible," admitted Bill Ford Jr. Sunday afternoon,
"and we needed someone who was seen as a winner. We checked into (Ross')
background, heard the good things you usually hear, then we checked even
deeper and heard even more good things.
"From that point, money wasn't even a question. We just wanted to get him
here, and make sure it was a comfortable fit."
This may sound childishly logical to you; if so, you have not been a Lions
fan for long. Die-hards have been waiting decades for such an attitude. They
didn't get it last time, or the time before that, or the time before that.
They got Fontes, no history of NFL winning, Darryl Rogers, no history of NFL
winning, Monte Clark, Tommy Hudspeth, Rick Forzano.
The reaction around the league when the Lions hired these guys was, at
best, "Hmm." At worst it was "AHAHAHAHAHA!"
Not anymore. Other teams wanted Ross. Other teams chased Ross. The Lions
won.
Just like the good teams.
Serious approach wins in NFL
Now, I cannot tell you Ross will win a Super Bowl in Detroit. No one can
tell you that. Nor can I tell you that the men hired by the other teams in
this supermarket season for coaches might not win faster. No one can tell you
that.
But given the information available, Ross was the smart move, and quite
likely the winning move. He is a man who has never had a losing season in the
NFL, and he brings a serious approach to preparation and practice, which was
lacking under Fontes and wasn't even thinkable under Rogers, a guy who once
counted the pigeons on the Silverdome roof.
"One of the best things about Ross is that he doesn't need much of a
learning curve," said Ford. Jr. "He's not a college head coach, or a guy who
was an assistant. That's important, because the nucleus of this team doesn't
have that many more years together."
Again, smart thinking. The only other candidate who better fit this bill
was Bill Parcells, and no one even knows if he's leaving New England. If he
is, all indications are he's going to the Jets. If the Lions waited to pitch
him, it would have been February -- since he's still active -- and by that
point, Ross would be gone.
Nuh-uh. This is the move you make. Never mind that some critics think the
Lions acted too quickly. Those same people would later say the Lions acted too
slowly. The fact is, in addition to Northwestern's Gary Barnett -- a waste of
time -- Ford. Jr says the Lions talked to "four other candidates." None
brought what Ross does.
So the Fords made him an offer -- a fat offer, almost twice as much per
season what they were paying Fontes -- and admit it. As a Lions fan, you are
happy to see them fork over the money. It breaks a pattern. It means they
really want to play with the big boys.
Just like the good teams.
There are some hesitations
Now, with any hire there are hesitations. Here are mine with Ross. He is
60, and it is hard enough for 40-year-old coaches to relate to today's
young-and-younger players. That concerns me -- especially since Ross spent
most of his career in college ball.
He is also loyal to his assistants, especially offensive coordinator Ralph
Friedgen, who has been with him 20 years. That loyalty is part of what led to
his resignation from the Chargers a few weeks ago. I admire loyalty. And Lord
knows Fontes was willing to throw anyone overboard who didn't share his blood
line. But 20 years is a long time to be thinking the same way about offense.
That concerns me.
Then again, if some college hotshot were coming in, my list of concerns
would be longer. Same for any promising NFL assistant. Ross is the best move,
and, no matter what happens, it shows that the Lions are -- largely if you ask
me, because of Ford Jr.'s involvement with his father -- thinking like a
winning team, paying like a winning team, and making decisions like a winning
team.
When I suggest this to Ford Jr., he shies away. But he does say, "If we
want to be an elite team in the NFL, it's time we acted that way."
That sentence alone -- before Ross even steps to the microphone -- gives
fans a pretty warm feeling in the dead of winter.
THIS ELECTRONIC VERSION MAY DIFFER SLIGHTLY FROM THE PRINTED ARTICLE.
FOOTBALL; COLUMN; LIONS; BOBBY ROSS; COACH