Detroit's Coaching/Manager Changes

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTO BY CANDICE EBLING

A year ago, the Baltimore Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49'ers at the New Orleans Superdome.

Since that time, there has been some shifting for the Detroit Coaching/Managerial Scene.

I'll take this team by team.

The Detroit Pistons hired Lawrence Frank on August 3, 2011. In two seasons he compiled a 54-94 mark and Detroit missed the playoffs both campaigns.

Termination Day came on April 18, 2013 as the Pistons Management became fed up with his inability to communicate with players.

On June 28, 2013, Brooklyn Nets rookie Head Coach Jason Kidd hired Frank to be his lead assistant and his right-hand man. It didn't take long for Kidd to get fed-up with Frank as he banned him from games and practices on December 3, 2013. Now Frank has been demoted to filing team evaluation reports.

The Pistons hired Maurice Cheeks as his replacement and there is no doubt he's an upgrade over Frank.

The Detroit Tigers managerial change wasn't of their own choosing. Jim Leyland decided to retire with a 700-597 record on October 21, 2013.He led Detroit to a pair of World Series appearances. Leyland guided Detroit to four playoff appearances which is the most in team history.

Leyland, who piloted the Tigers from 2006-2013 is the Tigers second manager to have a winning record since 1979 joining the late Sparky Anderson. Leyland's winning percentage is .540 while from 1979-1995, Anderson was 1,331-1248 for a .516 percentage.

On January 8, 2014, Leyland was named as a Special Assistant to Tigers President, CEO and GM Dave Dombrowski. I had a feeling that he couldn't totally stay away.

Meanwhile, Brad Ausmus has been hired to replace Leyland. He appears to have assembled a good coaching staff. I'm pleased that Ausmus retained Pitching Coach Jeff Jones and Bench Coach Gene Lamont. These were the two areas which needed to maintain continuity.

The Detroit Lions coaching change was inevitable after two straight late season collapses which cost Jim Schwartz his job.

Schwartz finished with a 29-52 mark in his tenure with the Lions from 2009-2013.

He was a highly coveted hire when he joined Detroit as the Tennessee Titans former defensive coordinator. His Lions record is somewhat deceiving because he inherited an 0-16 team without a franchise quarterback.

But the 2012 and 2013 seasons sealed Schwartz's fate. In 2012, Detroit started 4-4 but went 0-8 and finished 4-12. After a 6-3 start in 2013, The Lions wound up 7-9. You do the math. It was ugly at 1-6 and that's why Schwartz became unemployed on Dec 30, 2013. A 1-14 mark in November and December doesn't get it done.

As much as people like to criticize the Ford Family because of the Lions woeful record over the years, the only thing I'll say is they don't meddle with their coaches and don't lack patience. That's why many NFL People thought it was one of the best jobs available.

The only major coaching move which bothered me over the years was when Detroit had a chance to hire Assistant Coach Chuck Knox but elected to go with Monte Clark. Knox went on to coach the Los Angeles Rams and had good success while the Lions struggled with Clark. The only exciting players worth watching in the Clark era were Running Back Billy Sims and QB Gary Danielson.

I know a lot of people seem to be criticizing the Jim Caldwell hire. But hold on because while this might not be the most sexy big name guy, he comes with great credentials and recommendations from future Hall of Fame Coach Tony Dungy, former Indianapolis Colts GM Bill Polian, Future Hall of Fame QB Peyton Manning along with many others. Caldwell is known for his calm demeanor.

Caldwell led the Colts to a Super Bowl appearance as a head coach, and has won others as an assistant coach. He has an excellent reputation developing signal callers and as long as he hires assistant coaches that can only enhance the development of Matt Stafford, I have a feeling that many critics will be eating their words.

Caldwell may not be the quote machine that My Fellow Media Members want, but I'm sure My Detroit Colleagues will trade the quotes for an opportunity to see the Lions reach the Super Bowl.

The Only Team which hasn't made a change and I wouldn't foresee it in the future are the Detroit Red Wings. They are the Model Franchise in this city. They have won four championships with two coaches in Scotty Bowman and Mike Babcock.

Babcock is doing one of the best coaching jobs I've ever seen because he's had only two players that have participated in all the team's games. The Red Wings made the playoffs on the last game of the Regular Season and reached the Western Conference Finals only to lose to eventual eventual champs, the Chicago Blackhawks,.

I have a feeling the Wings consecutive playoff streak will increase to 23-years with a hot streak and getting some players back from injuries. If Detroit can keep winning, who knows, they could take this playoff streak into the New Olympia Stadium in a few years.

In the meantime, I'll be curious to see how these three new coaches perform a year from now.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com.

The Great One Vs Pistol Pete

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

I don't make many guarantees but there is one that I feel comfortable making. When comparing New Orleans and Indianapolis' Sports History, there won't be a media outlet that will provide you with what I'm going to do in this posting.

Did you know that Hall of Famers "Pistol" Pete Maravich and Wayne Gretzky have unique ties to these towns?

In 1978, the World Hockey Association had a young 17-year old player named Gretzky that started his professional career as a member of the Indianapolis Racers, who played at the now demolished Market Square Arena. Gretzky played eight games for the Racers who folded on December 15, 1978. He scored his first goal in his fifth game against Dave Dryden of the Edmonton Oilers and then his second four seconds later.

In eight games for the Racers, Gretzky had three goals and three assists for six points.

This would be the beginning of a career that would see him play in 1,487 NHL Regular Season Games, score 894 goals, amass 1,963 assists for 2,857 points. In the playoffs, Gretzky played in 208 games, added 122 goals, 260 assists for 362 points.

Upon his retirement on April 18, 1999 he held 40 regular season records, 15 playoff records, six All-Star marks and is the only NHL player to total 200 points in a season which he accomplished that feat four times. His No.99 has been retired by all teams in the NHL.

Gretzky, now 49, won four Stanley Cup Championships for the Edmonton Oilers in 1984, 85, 87, and 88.

The waiting period to be inducted into the Hall of Fame was waived thus he was enshrined in 1999.

How important was Pete "Pistol" Maravich to the Sports Fans of Louisiana?

When you go to the New Orleans Superdome, his No.7 was retired in 1988. Saints fans are reminded of that every time they watch a game knowing that Maravich played for the New Orleans Jazz from 1974-79. During his final year with the Jazz, he played in the NBA All-Star Game held at the Pontiac Silverdome.

The former LSU legend, has also had his No.7 retired by the New Orleans Hornets and the Utah Jazz.

Despite playing in only 10 seasons, Maravich was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987. He's a member of the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team (1996), a five time All-Star, scored 15,948 points (24.2 ppg) in 658 games.

He only made the playoffs four times, three with the Atlanta Hawks and once with the Boston Celtics, as he finished his career as a teammate of fellow Hall of Famer Larry Bird in 1979-80. He played 26 games averaging 11.5 points wearing the green and white and retired at the age of 32.

On January 5, 1988, Maravich died at the age of 40 due to a heart attack while playing in a pick-up basketball game in a gym at The First of the Nazarene in Pasadena, CA.

When you compare these two players careers, even though Gretzky's lasted much longer than Maravich's, there names will not only be remembered by National Sports Fans but more so in History of the States of Indiana & Louisiana.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.