2001 Detroit Lions season

2001 Detroit Lions season
Head coach	Marty Mornhinweg
General manager	Matt Millen
Owner	William Clay Ford, Sr.
Home field	Pontiac Silverdome
Results
Record	2–14
Division place	5th NFC Central
Playoff finish	did not qualify
Uniform

The 2001 Detroit Lions season was the franchise's 82nd season in the National Football League.

Marty Mornhinweg was named the twenty-first head coach in franchise history on January 21, 2001,^[1] after owner William Clay Ford, Sr. had controversially fired 2000 interim coach Gary Moeller, who remains the only Lions head coach with a winning record since 1972.^[2]

Hoping to improve on their 9–7 record from 2000, 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]

Offseason

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]

Personnel

Staff

2001 Detroit Lions staff
	Front office Owner and Chairman – William Clay Ford, Sr. Vice Chairman – William Clay Ford, Jr. President and Chief Executive Officer – Matt Millen Vice President of Stadium Development and Salary Cap – Tom Lewand Senior Director of Football Administration/Staff Counsel – Martin Mayhew Executive Director of Player Personnel – Bill Tobin Director of Pro Personnel – Sheldon White Director of College Scouting – Russ Bolinger Assistant Director of Pro Personnel – Charlie Sanders Head coaches Head Coach – Marty Mornhinweg Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Kevin Higgins Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs – Maurice Carthon Wide Receivers – Larry Kirksey Tight Ends – Sean Kugler Offensive Line – Carl Mauck Offensive Assistant/Quality Control – Mike McHugh			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Vince Tobin Defensive Line – Bill Young Assistant Defensive Line/Pass Rush Specialist – Charles Haley Linebackers – Glenn Pires Defensive Backs – Richard Selcer Defensive Assistant/Quality Control – Don Clemons Special teams coaches Special Teams – Chuck Priefer Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Jason Arapoff Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Malcolm Blacken

^[6]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Lions' Points	Opponents' Points	Record	Streak	Attendance	TV Time
1	09/09/01	at Green Bay Packers	L	6	28	0–1	L-1	59,523	1:00pm FOX
2	09/23/01	at Cleveland Browns	L	14	24	0–2	L-2	73,168	1:00pm FOX
3	Bye
4	10/08/01	St. Louis Rams	L	0	35	0–3	L-3	77,765	9:00pm ABC
5	10/14/01	at Minnesota Vikings	L	26	31	0–4	L-4	64,048	1:00pm FOX
6	10/21/01	Tennessee Titans	L	24	27	0–5	L-5	76,940	1:00pm CBS
7	10/28/01	Cincinnati Bengals	L	27	31	0–6	L-6	69,343	1:00pm CBS
8	11/04/01	at San Francisco 49ers	L	13	21	0–7	L-7	67,605	4:15pm FOX
9	11/11/01	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L	17	20	0–8	L-8	74,268	1:00pm FOX
10	11/18/01	at Arizona Cardinals	L	38	45	0–9	L-9	32,332	4:15pm FOX
11	11/22/01	Green Bay Packers	L	27	29	0–10	L-10	77,730	12:30pm FOX
12	12/02/01	at Chicago Bears	L	10	13	0–11	L-11	66,944	1:00pm FOX
13	12/09/01	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L	12	15	0–12	L-12	65,514	1:00pm FOX
14	12/16/01	Minnesota Vikings	W	27	24	1–12	W-1	72,190	1:00pm FOX
15	12/23/01	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L	14	47	1–13	L-1	62,809	1:00pm FOX
16	12/30/01	Chicago Bears	L	0	21	1–14	L-2	76,067	1:00pm FOX
17	01/06/02	Dallas Cowboys	W	15	10	2–14	W-1	77,512	1:00pm FOX

^[7]

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
^(2) Chicago Bears	13	3	0	.813	338	203	W4
^(3) 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

References

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. “Infamy Awaits the Lions” in The Free Lance Star, Sunday December 16, 2001; p. C11
4. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aAxVc5OuvWyA
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. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/det/2001.htm?redir

External links

• 2001 Detroit Lions at Pro-Football-Reference.com