This is an accepted version of this page
 Millen in 2009 | |||||||||
| No. 55, 54, 57 | |||||||||
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| Position | Linebacker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1958-03-12)March 12, 1958 (age 67) Hokendauqua, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 250 lb (113 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Whitehall(Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania) | ||||||||
| College | Penn State | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1980: 2nd round, 43rd overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
Playing | |||||||||
Operations | |||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Matthew George Millen (born March 12, 1958) is an American former professionalfootball player and executive in theNational Football League (NFL). Millen played as alinebacker for 12 years for theOakland and Los Angeles Raiders,San Francisco 49ers, andWashington Redskins, playing on fourSuper Bowl-winning teams and is the only player to win aSuper Bowl ring with three different franchises.[1][2]
Following his NFL playing career, Millen was a football commentator for several national television and radio networks. His last job before joining the Lions was as a member of the number two broadcast team forNFL on Fox,[3] and the color commentator forMonday Night Football onWestwood One. On February 1, 2009, he joined theNBC broadcast team for pre-game analysis ofSuper Bowl XLIII. He has also been employed byESPN as an NFL and college football analyst, and by theNFL Network as a color commentator onThursday Night Football.[4]
In2001, Millen was hired as president and chief executive officer of theDetroit Lions and served in that position until2008. His eight-year tenure as head of Detroit Lions led to the worst eight-year record in the history of the modern NFL (31–84, a .270 winning percentage),[5] leading to fan outrage, and ultimately his termination from the franchise on September 24, 2008. Millen assembled the personnel and coaching staff of the2008 Lions, which became the first team to go0–16. It stood as the worst single-season record in NFL history until2017, when it was tied by the2017 Cleveland Browns who went winless in the season. He is generally regarded among the worst general managers in the history of modern sports.[6]
In 2015, Millen returned to broadcasting withFox NFL and debuted on theBig Ten Network.
Millen was born and grew up in theHokendauqua section ofWhitehall Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb ofAllentown. He attendedWhitehall High School in Pennsylvania'sLehigh Valley region. Whitehall High School competes in theEastern Pennsylvania Conference, an elite high school athletic conference known for producing a great number ofNational Football League and other professional athletes, and Millen was a standout football player for the school.
Whitehall High School later permanently retired Millen's Whitehall football jersey number (#83) in honor of his high school, collegiate, and NFL football accomplishments, making him one of only three Whitehall High School football players, along with fellow Whitehall High School alumni and NFL starsSaquon Barkley (#21) andDan Koppen (#77), to have their Whitehall jersey numbers permanently retired in the school's history.
In April 2022, Millen also was inducted into the Lehigh Valley Sports Hall of Fame.[7]
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Millen was recruited from Whitehall High School byPenn State, where he played for the Nittany Lions in the1976,1977,1978, and1979 seasons. In 1978, Millen was named anAll-Americandefensive tackle for Penn State.[8]
Following his career at Penn State, Millen entered the1980 NFL draft and was selected by theOakland Raiders with the draft's 43rd overall selection in the second round.
During his 12-yearNational Football League playing career, Millen played for the Raiders, theSan Francisco 49ers, and theWashington Redskins. He won a Super Bowl with each of these teams, including two with the Raiders (one when the team was based inOakland and one during their stint inLos Angeles). He won one Super Bowl each with the 49ers and Redskins, though he was deactivated forSuper Bowl XXVI while with the Redskins.[9] As of 2025, Millen is the only player in NFL history to have won Super Bowls with three different teams.
During his NFL career, he was selected to play in thePro Bowl in1988. Millen finished his 12 NFL seasons with 11 sacks and nine interceptions, which he returned for 132 yards, and eight fumble recoveries. He also returned seven kickoffs for 72 yards. Tackles were not yet being officially recorded at that time.
Following his professional football career, Millen worked as acolor commentator forCBS (which teamed him withSean McDonough,Paul Olden,Mike Emrick, andTim Ryan), and forFox (which teamed him withDick Stockton). He also provided game analysis for the radio broadcasts ofMonday Night Football, working alongsideHoward David onCBS'sWestwood One radio network.
At Fox, Millen came to be considered the number-two analyst for its nationally broadcast games, behindJohn Madden (who had been teaming for years withPat Summerall). He filled in for Madden, alongside Summerall, on the 1997American Bowl game because John Madden hadfears of flying.
Millen returned to broadcasting when he served as a studio analyst forNBC's coverage of Wild Card Saturday,[10] his first television appearance in an analyst role since the 2000 NFC Divisional Playoffs, and reprised that role for NBC on their coverage ofSuper Bowl XLIII.
On June 15, 2009, Millen was named the lead analyst for the NFL Network'sThursday Night Football telecast, replacingCris Collinsworth.[11] He was also a color analyst forESPN College Football telecasts, teaming with Sean McDonough,Joe Tessitore, andBob Wischusen. Since 2015, Millen has provided color commentary for college games on theBig Ten Network and occasionally forNFL on Fox.
In2001, Millen left broadcasting to assume the job of theDetroit Lions' CEO andde factogeneral manager. At that time, Millen had no prior player development or front office experience. When first approached by ownerWilliam Clay Ford Sr. about the job, Millen told him "Mr. Ford, I really appreciate this, but I'm not qualified." Ford responded "You're smart. You'll figure it out."[12]
Millen was the Lions' CEO for seven full seasons, from2001 to2007; during that time, the club compiled a record of 31–81 (with at least nine losses each season). Detroit's .277 winning percentage was among the worst ever compiled by an NFL team over a seven-year period; only theChicago Cardinals of1939-1945 (10–61–3, .141)[13] and theTampa Bay Buccaneers of1983–1989 (26–86, .234) were less successful.
During the early part of Millen's tenure (2001–2003), the Lions failed to win a road game for three years (0–24) before opening the season with a win at theChicago Bears in2004. Overall, the Lions went 8–50 on the road during the Millen era.[14] Millen himself admitted to an interviewer in 2008 that the team's record under his leadership has been "beyond awful."[15] TheWall Street Journal said that NFL executives admit in private that Millen "has made more bad draft decisions than anyone else in two centuries."[16]
Despite the team's record on the field, Millen was the second-highest paid general manager in the NFL.[17] With a draft record that included a number of high first-round draft picks who were considered poor choices, includingCharles Rogers,Joey Harrington,Mike Williams (chosen overDeMarcus Ware despite initial organizational agreement for Ware), and others,[18] and widespread disappointment among fans, theDetroit media, and even some players, Millen received a five-year contract extension from Ford at the start of the2005 season.[19] Following the team's 3–13 performance in2006, Ford announced that Millen would be retained as general manager for at least another season, because, according to inside sources to the Ford family, they still believed that Millen was the best general manager that the Lions ever had.[20]On September 24,2008, Millen was confirmed to no longer hold his positions with the Lions. Whether he was dismissed or resigned was unclear.[21] It was later reported by a team official that Millen was actually fired.[22]
Millen was named to theNFL competition committee on August 4, 2006.[23]
Chants of "Fire Millen!" began to spread among the Lions fanbase during a college basketball game betweenMichigan State andWichita State atThe Palace of Auburn Hills on December 10, 2005. It started when ousted LionscoachSteve Mariucci was shown on the big screen, prompting a standing ovation for Mariucci and a loud chant of "Fire Millen!"[24] The chant was then heard during various home and away games of the other Detroit sports teams. It was also heard duringMichigan andMichigan State basketball games.[25][26] Former Pistonspower forwardRasheed Wallace even took part in the chant during a late timeout in a December 16,2005 game against theChicago Bulls.[26] A "Fire Millen" sign was shown in the background of a February 3, 2007 broadcast ofESPNCollege GameDay at theUniversity of Kansas. One large sign with the "Fire Millen" slogan was removed by NCAA officials at theNCAA Division II Football Championship inFlorence, Alabama.
"Fire Millen" turned up in a background sign in the sports-orientedcomic stripGil Thorp on February 20, 2006.[27]
The "Fire Millen" chant returned in force to Ford Field during the second half of the 2006Thanksgiving Day game between the Detroit Lions and theMiami Dolphins,[28] when former Lions quarterback and first-round pickJoey Harrington, often ascapegoat for the Lions problems, led the Dolphins to a 27–10 victory over the Lions, dropping the Lions' record to 2–9. More "Fire Millen" chants were heard at wrestling events, includingWWE'sWrestleMania 23 atFord Field andTNA'sBound for Glory. For 2008, the "Fire Millen" chants were back in force during the game against theGreen Bay Packers.
On December 6, 2005,Detroit sports talk radio stationWDFN announced the "Angry Fan March", also known as the "Millen Man March", in protest of Millen's contract extension.[26]
On December 9, 2005, in protest of Millen's poor record, Detroit Lions fan site "The Lions Fanatics” organized a walkout led by site owner Dan Spanos, which encouraged Lions fans to show up atFord Field clad inhunter's orange, the color of their opponent that week, theCincinnati Bengals.[29]
In a game against theChicago Bears on December 24, 2006, another group of fans, led by Herbert Nicholl Jr., planned a walkout protest towards the end of the first half to express their disgust with Millen's management.[30][31]
After a 0–3 start to the2008 season, Lions vice chairman andFord Motor Company Executive ChairmanWilliam Clay Ford Jr., told reporters on September 22, 2008, if it were up to him, he would fire Millen.[32] Despite this, the elder Ford claimed he had no plans to dismiss Millen.
Two days later, however, on September 24, 2008, Millen's tenure as team president and general manager ended.[33] Lions owner William Clay Ford later announced that Millen had been relieved of his duties as Lions general manager and team president.[34] The Lions finished the 2008 season with a record of 0–16 and did not win again until Week 3 of the2009 season.
On the January 3, 2009, edition ofNBC'sFootball Night in America, Millen admitted his role in the team's downfall, saying he would have fired himself after the 2008 season.[35]
During the pre-game show forSuper Bowl XLIII,WDIV-TV, theNBC affiliate in Detroit, ran a ticker on their website, asking viewers to question his credibility as anNBC Sports panelist, given his past with the Lions;[36] over 36 pages of comments were posted on the station's website.[37]
Millen is married to Patricia Millen. They have four children and ten grandchildren.[38]
Millen was diagnosed with the rare diseaseamyloidosis in 2017. In Millen's case, the disease affected his heart, reducing it to operating at about 30 percent capacity.[39] Millen was told he needed aheart transplant to continue living. As he waited for one, he began chemotherapy to rid himself of the amyloidosis.[40] The transplant surgery was performed successfully atBeth Israel Medical Center inNewark, New Jersey on Christmas Eve 2018.[41]
On January 5, 1986, atLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum, after losing theAFC divisional playoff game to theNew England Patriots, Millen intervened in an on-field dispute between Raiders player and teammateHowie Long and Patriots general manager,Patrick Sullivan, by punching Sullivan in the face. Sullivan said the punch made him "see stars" and that he required stitches. Millen later called the incident "a good hit."[42]
In December 2003, following aDetroit Lions 45–17 loss to theKansas City Chiefs atArrowhead Stadium, Millen came under fire after a postgame incident with former Lions and then-Chiefs wide receiverJohnnie Morton. Millen tried to congratulate some of the Chiefs players near the Chiefs' locker room, when he confronted Morton, who claimed that he wasn't going to say anything to Millen. When he walked by him, Millen said, "Hey Johnnie." Morton ignored him, and then Millen replied, "Nice talking to you," and Morton replied "Kiss my ass." That's when Millen shouted, "Youfaggot! Yeah, you heard me. You faggot!" at Morton, which was heard by a member of the Chiefs public relations staff and a columnist forThe Kansas City Star. After he was informed of Millen's remarks, Morton replied, "I apologize for what I said, but I never expected anything like that. What he said is demeaning and bigoted." Millen apologized for his remarks.[43] There had been bad blood between the two since Morton was released by the Lions after the2001 season, and Morton felt like Millen "tossed him aside."
On April 24, 2010, at the2010 NFL draft inManhattan, Millen referred to fellowESPN commentatorRon Jaworski as a "Polack," after which he made an on-air apology, stating that he "didn't mean anything" by the remark.[44][45]
