Lions Introduce Mornhinweg As New Coach

P O N T I A C, Mich., Jan. 25, 2001 -- Marty Mornhinweg officially became coachof the Detroit Lions today and immediately set his sights onthe Super Bowl.

"I'm excited about this opportunity," Mornhinweg said at anews conference. "The bar is high. The goal for this organizationis to win Super Bowls."

The Lions have never played in a Super Bowl, but new presidentMatt Millen believes Mornhinweg can get them there. Millen, whoplayed on four Super Bowl champions with three teams, said the38-year-old Mornhinweg comes to Detroit "with a great pedigree."

"He's his own man," Millen said of the former San Francisco49ers offensive coordinator. "He's strong. He's a bulldog."

Mornihinweg’s Mandate: Improve Batch

Mornhinweg becomes the Lions' third coach in three months. Hereplaces the fired Gary Moeller, who moved in after Bobby Rossresigned in November. Mornhinweg was one of five coaches consideredfor the job since Millen was hired two weeks ago.

Moeller was fired after taking over a 5-4 team that ended up 9-7and out of the playoffs. Moeller's assistants also were fired butsome could be re-hired by Mornhinweg.

Mornhinweg's hiring clearly showed Millen was in charge becauseLions owner William Clay Ford wanted Moeller to stay for anotherseason. But Ford didn't stand in Millen's way after giving him fullauthority to run the team.

The Lions will count on Mornhinweg to improve the play ofquarterback Charlie Batch, who had 13 touchdown passes and 15interceptions last season.

Mornhinweg plans to stick with Batch.

"Charlie will be the quarterback for the Detroit Lions," hesaid. "Unless something crazy or unforeseen happens."

Record-Setting Quarterback in College

Mornhinweg had a record-setting career at Montana as aquarterback. The Edmond, Okla., native played briefly in the ArenaFootball League before a career-ending knee injury. He then spent10 seasons as a college assistant before joining the Green BayPackers.

The length of Mornhinweg's contract wasn't immediately discussedat the news conference. However, a football source speaking oncondition of anonymity earlier said he agreed to a five-year deal.ESPN.com said the deal was worth $5 million. (ESPN.com, like ABCNEWS.com, is owned by Disney.)

Mornhinweg spent the last four seasons as the 49ers' offensivecoordinator after two years as an offensive assistant andquarterbacks coach for the Packers.

Mornhinweg has never been a head coach at any level, nor does hehave any coaching experience on defense. He was Brett Favre'sposition coach during Green Bay's 1996 Super Bowl season.

Millen Shakes Things Up as Team President

Millen, a former NFL standout and broadcast analyst, received afive-year, $15 million contract to be the president and chiefexecutive officer in Detroit.

Moeller was given a 2½-year contract when he took the Detroitcoaching job last season. But his status became shaky when Millenwas hired.

"I regret that I will not have the opportunity to continuecoaching and working with the players who have meant so much tome," Moeller said in a written statement. "I was truly delightedto be their leader for the last two months of the season. Theybecame a very special group."

The Lions had fired their offensive and defensive coordinatorsalong with their receivers coach after being eliminated from theplayoffs with a loss to Chicago at home in the regular-seasonfinale.