Matt Millen Matthew George " Matt " Millen ( born March 12 , 1958 ) is an American former National Football League linebacker and a former executive . Millen played for the Oakland Raiders , the San Francisco 49ers and the Washington Redskins . In Millen ' s 12 - year NFL playing career , he played on four Super Bowl - winning teams . Millen won a Super Bowl ring with each of the three teams for which he played . After his playing career , Millen was President and CEO of the Detroit Lions from 2001 until week 4 of the 2008 NFL season . His eight - year tenure as head of the franchise led to the worst eight - year record in the history of the modern NFL ( 31 - 84 , a . 270 winning percentage ) , and resulted in his termination on September 24 , 2008 . Following his NFL career , he 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 for the NFL on Fox , as well as being the color commentator for " Monday Night Football " on Westwood One . On February 1 , 2009 , he joined the NBC broadcast team for pre - game analysis of Super Bowl XLIII . He was employed by ESPN as an NFL analyst , and by NFL Network as a color commentator on " Thursday Night Football , " but currently only does color commentary on ESPN for college football . Biography . High school and college football . Millen was born in Hokendauqua , Pennsylvania and grew up in Whitehall , Pennsylvania a suburb of Allentown . Pennsylvania . He attended Whitehall High School in Pennsylvania ' s Lehigh Valley region . He was a standout high school football player for Whitehall , which played in the highly competitive East Penn Conference ( now known as the Lehigh Valley Conference ) . He was recruited out of Whitehall High School by Pennsylvania State University , where he became an All - American defensive tackle for the Nittany Lions . NFL career . Following his career at Penn State , Millen entered the 1980 NFL Draft and was selected by the Oakland Raiders with the draft ' s 43rd overall selection in the second round . During his 12 - year NFL playing career , Millen played for the Raiders , the San Francisco 49ers , and the Washington Redskins . He won a Super Bowl with each of these teams , including two with the Raiders ( one when the team was based in Oakland and one during their stint in Los Angeles ) . He won one Super Bowl each with the 49ers and Redskins , though he was de - activated for Super Bowl XXVI while with the Redskins . During his NFL career , he was selected to play in one Pro Bowl ( in 1988 ) . Millen finished his 12 NFL seasons with 11 sacks and 9 interceptions , which he returned for 132 yards , and 8 fumble recoveries . He also returned 7 kickoffs for 72 yards . Tackles were not recorded at that time . Television and radio career . Following his professional football career , Millen worked as a color commentator for CBS TV ( which teamed him with Sean McDonough , Paul Olden , Mike Emrick , and Tim Ryan ) , and for Fox ( which teamed him with Dick Stockton ) . He also provided game analysis for the radio broadcasts of " Monday Night Football " , working alongside Howard David on CBS ' s Westwood One radio network . At Fox , Millen came to be considered the number - two analyst for its nationally - broadcast games , behind John Madden ( who had been successfully teaming for years with Pat Summerall ) . He filled in for John Madden , alongside Pat Summerall , on the 1997 American Bowl game because John Madden had fears of flying . Millen returned to broadcasting when he served as a studio analyst for NBC ' s coverage of Wild Card Saturday , his first television appearance in an analyst role since the 2000 NFC Divisional Playoffs , and reprised that role for NBC on their coverage of Super Bowl XLIII . On June 15 , 2009 , Millen was named the lead analyst for the NFL Network ' s " Thursday Night Football " telecast , replacing Cris Collinsworth . He is also a color analyst for ESPN College Football telecasts , teaming with Sean McDonough and Holly Rowe . Detroit Lions management . In 2001 , Millen left broadcasting to assume the job of the Detroit Lions ' CEO and " de facto " general manager . At that time , Millen had no prior player development or front office experience . Millen was the Lions ' CEO for seven full seasons , from 2001 – 07 ; 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 the Chicago Cardinals of 1939 - 45 ( 10 - 61 - 3 , . 141 ) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of 1983 - 89 ( 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 the Chicago Bears in 2004 . Overall , the Lions are 8 – 50 on the road since 2001 . Millen himself admitted to an interviewer in 2008 that the team ' s record under his leadership has been " beyond awful " . The " Wall Street Journal " said that NFL executives admit in private that Millen " has made more bad draft decisions than anyone else in two centuries " . Despite the team ' s record on the field , Millen was the second - highest paid general manager in the NFL . With a draft record that included a number of high first - round draft picks who were considered poor choices ( Charles Rogers , Joey Harrington , and Mike Williams among them ) , and widespread disappointment among fans , the media , and even some players , Millen received a five - year contract extension from owner William Clay Ford , Sr . at the start of the 2005 season . Following the team ' s 3 – 13 performance in 2006 , 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 GM that the Lions ever had . On September 24 , 2008 , Millen was confirmed to no longer hold his positions with the Lions . Whether he was dismissed or resigned was unclear . It was later reported by a team official that Millen was actually fired . With the Lions trade of 2006 first round draft pick Ernie Sims in April 2010 , only three of Millen ' s first - round draft picks , receiver Calvin Johnson ( the fourth WR chosen by Detroit in the 1st round during Millen ' s reign ) , left tackle Jeff Backus , and right tackle Gosder Cherilus , remained on the team ' s roster . Competition committee . Millen was named to the NFL competition committee on August 4 , 2006 . " Fire Millen " movement . The chant began to spread during a college basketball game between Michigan State and Wichita State at The Palace of Auburn Hills on December 10 , 2005 . It started when ousted Lions coach Steve Mariucci was shown on the big screen , prompting a standing ovation for Mariucci and a loud chant of " Fire Millen ! " The following night in Los Angeles , in an NBA game between the Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Clippers , the chant surfaced late in the 4th quarter at the Staples Center . The chant had also been heard during various Detroit Red Wings games , both home and away , as well as during a college basketball game between Michigan and UCLA . Former Pistons power forward Rasheed Wallace even took part in the chant during a late timeout in a December 16 , 2005 game against the Chicago Bulls . A " Fire Millen " sign was shown in the background of a February 3 , 2007 broadcast of ESPN " College GameDay " at the University of Kansas . One large sign with the " Fire Millen " slogan was removed by NCAA officials at the NCAA Division II National Football Championship in Florence , Alabama . " Fire Millen " even turned up in a background sign in the sports - oriented comic strip " Gil Thorp " on February 20 , 2006 ( " Detroit News " columnist Neal Rubin took over as the writer of " Gil Thorp " in 2004 ) . The " Fire Millen " chant returned in force to Ford Field during the second half of the 2006 Thanksgiving day game between the Detroit Lions and the Miami Dolphins , when former Lions quarterback and first round pick Joey Harrington ( often a scapegoat 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 , namely WWE ' s WrestleMania 23 held at Ford Field , and TNA ' s Bound for Glory . For 2008 , the " Fire Millen " chants were back in force during the game against the Green Bay Packers . Other protests . On December 6 , 2005 , Detroit sports talk radio station WDFN announced the " Angry Fan March " ( also known as the " Millen Man March " ) in protest of Millen ' s contract extension . On December 9 , 2005 , in protest of Millen ' s poor record , one Detroit Lions fan site , known as " The Lions Fanatics , " led by owner Dan Spanos organized an " orange out " event , which encouraged Lions fans to show up at Ford Field clad in hunter ' s orange , the color of their opponent that week , the Cincinnati Bengals . In a game against Chicago 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 the current management . Terminated from the Lions . After a 0 - 3 start to the Lions 2008 season , Lions vice chairman and Ford Motor Company Executive Chairman William Clay Ford , Jr . , told reporters on September 22 , 2008 if it were up to him , he would fire Millen . Despite this , the elder Ford claimed he had no plans to dismiss Millen . However , on September 24 , 2008 , Millen ' s tenure as team president and general manager ended . Lions owner William Clay Ford later announced that Millen had been relieved of his duties as Lions General Manager and Team President . Millen takes responsibility . On the January 3 , 2009 edition of NBC ' s " Football Night in America " , Millen admitted his role in the team ' s downfall , saying he would have fired himself after the 2008 season . During NBC ' s pre - game show for Super Bowl XLIII , Detroit ' s affiliate WDIV - TV ran a ticker on their website , asking viewers to question his credibility as an NBC Sports panelist , given his past with the Lions . Over 36 pages of comments were posted on the station ' s website . Controversies . " Devout coward " comments . In October 2002 , Millen came under fire for calling an unidentified Lion ' s player a " devout coward " on Mike Ditka ' s Chicago radio show , following a Lions 23 – 20 overtime win over the Chicago Bears . Millen apologized for the comments , with Lions owner William Clay Ford , Sr . expressing his disappointment over Millen ' s comments . Johnnie Morton incident . In December 2003 , following a Lions 45 – 17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium , Millen once again came under fire , after a postgame incident with former Lions and then - Chiefs wide receiver Johnnie 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 " You faggot ! Yeah , you heard me . You faggot ! " at Morton , which was heard by a member of the Chiefs public - relations staff and a " Kansas City Star " columnist . Millen apologized for the incident , and 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 . " There had been bad blood between the two since Morton was released by the Lions after the 2001 season , and Morton felt like Millen " tossed him aside . " Ethnic slur at 2010 NFL Draft . On April 24 , 2010 , at the 2010 NFL Draft , Millen apparently referred to fellow ESPN commentator Ron Jaworski as a " Polack " , after which he made an on - air apology , stating that he " didn ' t mean anything " by the remark . Michigan vs . Michigan State Game - October 9 , 2010 . On October 9 , 2010 , Millen was color commentator for the traditional rivalry game between the University of Michigan and Michigan State University . Because of his unsuccessful tenure with the Lions , he was a very disliked figure in the state of Michigan . Outrage was expressed that he was on the broadcast team for the game , and complaints were sent to ABC / ESPN , which was airing the game . Millen in parodies . A target of many jokes among those in the football circles , among one of the more notable examples is that of Bang Cartoons , who depict Millen as a gorilla - like oaf with a childlike mentality . He ' s usually accompanied by a young , mentally challenged sidekick named Billy .