2015 DETROIT LIONS MEDIA GUIDE

during his second and third seasons at the helm.
After playing nine games into the 2000 season
and compiling a 5-4 record, Ross abruptly resigned
as head coach November 6 and was immediately
replaced by Gary Moeller. Moeller guided the
team to a 4-3 record over the last seven games,
but narrowly missed the playoffs with a loss to
the Chicago Bears in the season finale. Following
the season, William Clay Ford named Matt Millen
president and CEO, and he assumed control
over team operations. On January 25, 2001 Gary
Moeller was replaced as head coach by former
San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Marty
Mornhinweg.
On April 1, 2002, Detroit relocated the team’s
day-to-day operations into the new $36 million
Headquarters and Training Facility in Allen Park.
The new complex features outdoor and indoor
practice fields, spacious training and meeting rooms
and even the team’s own broadcast studio.
A new era in Lions’ history dawned as Ford Field,
the team’s $500 million downtown Detroit stadium,
opened its doors in August 2002. The 65,000-seat
stadium sparkled as its retro and innovative
features glistened in the national spotlight as the
premiere sports and entertainment complex. The
Lions played the first game at Ford Field August
24, 2002 in a preseason tilt against the Pittsburgh
Steelers. The inaugural regular season game was
played between the Lions and the Green Bay
Packers September 22, 2002.
In January 2003, Mornhinweg was fired after
two seasons and former San Francisco 49ers Head
Coach Steve Mariucci was tabbed the new Lions’
head coach February 4.
For the first time since the Lions placed the
Leaping Lion logo on the players’ helmets in
1961, Detroit announced a major addition to the
team’s uniform on April 23, 2003. The Lions’ classic
uniform was enhanced with black trim on the logo,
jerseys and pants, along with black shoes and black
facemasks. In April 2005, the team introduced an
alternate black jersey that would be worn through
2007.
On November 28, 2005, Steve Mariucci was
relieved of his duties as head coach and defensive
coordinator Dick Jauron was named interim head
coach for the remaining five games.
In 2006, the Lions hired Rod Marinelli as the
team’s 24th head coach, a position he would hold
through 2008.
In 2008, the Lions commemorated the franchise’s
75th season in Detroit. Just a handful of NFL teams
have been around as long as the Lions, a franchise
that spans several generations of fans over the
years. Detroit has called three different stadiums
home with nearly 1,400 players seeing action on a
given gameday and numerous coaches strolling the
sideline. That history is rich with great players who
have donned the uniform -- the Lions are one of only
nine teams to have at least 18 Pro Football Hall of
Fame players don their respective uniforms -- and
with traditions like the “Honolulu Blue and Silver”,
the leaping Lion logo, the “Roaring 20’s” and the
team’s annual Thanksgiving Tradition.
In 2009, for the first time in team history, the
team entered the season with a new president, Tom
Lewand, a new general manager, Martin Mayhew,
and a new head coach, Jim Schwartz, hired January
16, 2009. In that same year, the Lions introduced
a new logo and new brand, along with new team
uniforms that features the first significant change
to the Lions logo since it was introduced in 1961.
Schwartz labeled the 2011 season upon its
conclusion as not a great year but an important one.
Perhaps most notably, 2011 will be remembered
for the “comeback” as the Lions returned to the
playoffs for the first time since 1999 and set NFL
records with four comeback wins of 13+ points,
three comeback wins of 17+-points and two backto-back
20+-point comeback wins. The Lions set
several team records, including points (474) and
yards (6,337), as well as individual records. Perhaps
the two biggest stars leading the Lions in 2011
were QB Matthew Stafford, named AP Comeback
Player of the Year, and All-Pro WR Calvin Johnson.
In 2012, the season was highlighted by Johnson's
remarkable performance as he broke the NFL record
for receiving yards in a single season. He finished
with 122 receptions for 1,964 yards, breaking Jerry
Rice's previous record of 1,848 yards in 1995. One
season later in 2013, Stafford became the Lions
all-time leader in career passing yards, breaking
the previous record of 15,710 yards held by Hall
of Fame QB Bobby Layne that stood for 55 years.
Stafford reached this feat in only 55 career games,
while Layne accomplished his mark in 97 games. He
became the first Lions QB to reach 17,000 career
passing yards.
After five seasons with the team (2009-13),
Schwartz was dismissed as head coach on
December 30, 2013.
A new era for Lions football began January 14,
2014 with the introduction of Jim Caldwell as the
team's new head coach. Caldwell arrived in Detroit
after leading the Indianapolis Colts to the Super
Bowl as a head coach and won Super Bowls with
both the Colts and the Baltimore Ravens.
On March 9, 2014, Lions Owner and Chairman
William Clay Ford passed away at the age of 88.
Mr. Ford purchased the team January 10, 1964 and
owned the team for 50 years. With his passing,
ownership of the Lions organization was passed to
his wife, Martha Firestone Ford, as she succeeded
her late husband as Owner and Chair of the Board
for the franchise.
Caldwell led the Lions to an 11-5 record the
ensuing season and a berth in the NFC Wild Card
game, becoming just the third coach in team history
to lead the Lions to the playoffs in his first year with
Detroit. He also became one of only four coaches to
lead the Lions to 11+ wins in a season.
DETROIT LIONS
HISTORY