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Martz canned by Lions

Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2008 7:29 pm
by Blueline29
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Source: Lions fire Martz, promote Colleto, Brown to lead offense
ESPN.com news services

Updated: January 2, 2008, 6:54 PM ET

The Detroit Lions have fired offensive coordinator Mike Martz and promoted offensive line coach Jim Colleto and wide receivers coach Kippy Brown to run the offense in his place, a source in the organization told ESPN's Chris Mortensen.

Colleto will be named offensive coordinator and remain as the offensive line coach, while Brown is being promoted to assistant head coach and passing game coordinator, and will also serve as running backs coach.

Martz confirmed his firing to the Detroit Free Press.

"We fell short of what we wanted to do offensively, and I regret that," he told the newspaper.

In other changes, the Lions promoted Shawn Jefferson from offensive assistant to wide receivers coach and fired Martz's son, Tim Martz, as an offensive assistant.

On Sunday, after their season ended with a loss to the Green Bay Packers, members of the Lions offense said the blame should be on them.

"You can keep changing coaches, but every time you change them that's a new system,'' said quarterback Jon Kitna. "The reality is, the games that we lost, the majority, the times that things didn't go right, it was self-inflicted stuff.

"It wasn't a coaching thing where you were outcoached or they weren't putting you in a position to be successful. There were plays to be made, and we didn't make them for whatever reason that is.''

However, Martz is not expected to be out of work for long. According to media reports, the San Francisco 49ers will seek him out as a replacement for current offensive coordinator Jim Hostler.

Martz led the St. Louis Rams to the playoffs in four of his five full seasons as a head coach, including a Super Bowl after the 2001 season, and helped the franchise win the 2000 Super Bowl as offensive coordinator. The Rams went 51-29 in the regular season and 54-33 overall during his five full seasons as coach.