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2001 Detroit Lions season

The 2001 Detroit Lions season was the franchise's 72nd season in the National Football League (NFL). Marty Mornhinweg was named the 21st head coach in franchise history on January 21, 2001,[1] after owner William Clay Ford Sr. controversially fired 2000 interim coach Gary Moeller.[2]

2001 Detroit Lions season
OwnerWilliam Clay Ford Sr.
General managerMatt Millen
Head coachMarty Mornhinweg
Home fieldPontiac Silverdome
Results
Record2–14
Division place5th NFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersDE Robert Porcher
AP All-ProsNone
Uniform

The season began with much optimism, with the Lions hoping to improve on their 9–7 record from 2000; however, the Lions were extremely disappointing and had the worst start to an NFL season since the 1986 Indianapolis Colts began 0–13. They were widely believed to be likely to suffer the NFL’s first 0–16 season[3] before they defeated the Minnesota Vikings. Prior to that, they had lost an NFL record nine consecutive games by eight points or less.[3]

Seven seasons later, the Lions went 0–16 after a week 17 loss to the Green Bay Packers.[4]

This was the final season that the Lions played at the Pontiac Silverdome before moving to Ford Field the following season, as well as the final season for the NFC Central Division, which would dissolve following the NFL's realignment in 2002, although all NFC Central teams except the Tampa Bay Buccaneers formed the new NFC North Division.

The Lions closed the Silverdome by defeating the Dallas Cowboys 15–10 in the regular season finale. Coincidentally, the Cowboys defeated the Lions 36–10 in the first regular season game at the Silverdome (then known as Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium) in 1975.

This would also be the first season under new general manager Matt Millen, as he would be the team's general manager for the next six seasons and first 3 games of the 2008 season. This would start a stage of futility for the Lions, as they would fail to post a winning record with Millen as general manager.

Offseason

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NFL Draft

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Main article: 2001 NFL draft
2001 Detroit Lions draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 18 Jeff Backus  Offensive tackle Michigan
2 50 Dominic Raiola  Center Nebraska
2 61 Shaun Rogers *  Defensive tackle Texas
5 148 Scotty Anderson  Wide receiver Grambling State
5 149 Mike McMahon  Quarterback Rutgers
6 173 Jason Glenn  Linebacker Texas A&M
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[5]

Undrafted free agents

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2002 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Josh Lovelady Guard Houston

Staff

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2001 Detroit Lions staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Jason Arapoff
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Malcolm Blacken


[6]

Roster

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2001 Detroit Lions roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Rookies in italics
53 active, 10 reserve, 4 practice squad

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 9 at Green Bay Packers L 6–28 0–1 Lambeau Field Recap
2[A] September 23 at Cleveland Browns L 14–24 0–2 Cleveland Browns Stadium Recap
3 Bye
4 October 8 St. Louis Rams L 0–35 0–3 Pontiac Silverdome Recap
5 October 14 at Minnesota Vikings L 26–31 0–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Recap
6 October 21 Tennessee Titans L 24–27 0–5 Pontiac Silverdome Recap
7 October 28 Cincinnati Bengals L 27–31 0–6 Pontiac Silverdome Recap
8 November 4 at San Francisco 49ers L 13–21 0–7 3Com Park Recap
9 November 11 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 17–20 0–8 Pontiac Silverdome Recap
10 November 18 at Arizona Cardinals L 38–45 0–9 Sun Devil Stadium Recap
11 November 22 Green Bay Packers L 27–29 0–10 Pontiac Silverdome Recap
12 December 2 at Chicago Bears L 10–13 0–11 Soldier Field Recap
13 December 9 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 12–15 0–12 Raymond James Stadium Recap
14 December 16 Minnesota Vikings W 27–24 1–12 Pontiac Silverdome Recap
15 December 23 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 14–47 1–13 Heinz Field Recap
16 December 30 Chicago Bears L 0–24 1–14 Pontiac Silverdome Recap
17[A] January 6 Dallas Cowboys W 15–10 2–14 Pontiac Silverdome Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
[7]

Game summaries

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Week 1: at Green Bay Packers

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Week 1: Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Lions 3 3 006
Packers 21 0 7028

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

  • Date: September 9
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. EDT/11:00 a.m. CDT
  • Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C)
  • Game attendance: 59,523
  • Referee: Aster Sizemore
  • Box score
Game information

Week 2: at Cleveland Browns

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Week 2: Detroit Lions at Cleveland Browns – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Lions 0 0 7714
Browns 7 7 10024

at Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

  • Date: September 23
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: 66 °F (19 °C)
  • Game attendance: 73,168
  • Referee: Terry McAulay
  • TV: Fox
  • Box score
Game information

Quarterback Ty Detmer made his first start for the Lions, ending the game with seven interceptions. Despite this, the Lions' defense kept the game somewhat close, picking off Cleveland quarterback Tim Couch twice, including a 26-yard pick six by cornerback Terry Fair.

Week 4: vs. St. Louis Rams

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Week 4: St. Louis Rams at Detroit Lions – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Rams 7 14 01435
Lions 0 0 000

at Pontiac Silverdome, Detroit, Michigan

Game information

Standings

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NFC Central
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(2) Chicago Bears 13 3 0 .813 338 203 W4
(4) Green Bay Packers 12 4 0 .750 390 266 W3
(6) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9 7 0 .563 324 280 L1
Minnesota Vikings 5 11 0 .313 290 390 L4
Detroit Lions 2 14 0 .125 270 424 W1

Notes

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  1. ^ a b The Lions were originally scheduled to host the Dallas Cowboys during Week 2 of the original NFL schedule (September 16) at Pontiac Silverdome. However, due to the September 11 attacks, the game was rescheduled to Week 17.

References

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  1. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p.117
  2. ^ "Mornhinweg Hired To Coach the Lions." New York Times, January 25, 2001. Retrieved on July 14, 2009.
  3. ^ a b “Infamy Awaits the Lions” in The Free Lance Star, Sunday December 16, 2001; p. C11
  4. ^ "Bloomberg Politics - Bloomberg". Bloomberg News.
  5. ^ "2001 Detroit Lions Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  6. ^ "Administration and Coaching Staff". 2001 Detroit Lions Media Guide. pp. 4–32.
  7. ^ "2001 Detroit Lions Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
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