| INDIANAPOLIS — Following are excerpts from a question-and-answer
session with Marty Mornhinweg, who replaced Gary Moeller as the Lions’ head coach
after the end of the season. Q: What will it take for Charlie Batch to get where you
want him to be?
A: The first thing we must do is expedite the learning curve (of) the terminology
offensively. Now, he does have some NFL experience, which is a tremendous jumpstart
because some of these plays, he’s had things in the past that were similar. All that
experience helps, but you never really master it, but trying to master our offense,
that’s the first step. In conjunction with that, we have 21 drills, quarterback
drills. All those drills we start on immediately. And those are the two primary objectives
going into a minicamp.
If I am recalling this correctly, when he first started, he went 5-1. Well, the
expectations just skyrocketed. Geez, that’s his rookie year; he started Game Three.
So he was a very young man. Certainly, he was going to struggle in the first three years.
I thought he was progressing well, from the outside (looking) in, up until last year, when
he came in with the leg problem, and then he got some (injured) ribs later in the season
and then he’s gone through some rough times. If he’s tough enough to get through
this thing, it may make him even better at the end. But he went 5-1. He’s shown he
can win football games in this league, and with very little experience. So with his
experience, I’m confident in our system, I would expect tremendous things.
Q: Do you intend to find a young quarterback in the draft?
A: There’s certainly the possibility of drafting a quarterback in any round, and
that’s always a possibility in my mind because the quarterback position is extremely
important, maybe the most important position in all of sports. So that position will be
dissected in free agency, in the draft, each and every round, each and every man. How high
the possibilities are for a first- or second-rounder, I would think, is not tremendous,
but if somebody were to fall to us, we’re not going to let a guy fall right by.
Q: What type of team should we expect to see?
A: We’ll see. I haven’t coached a game yet. But I have an idea of how I would
like the team directed. I think if you research some of my background, I have an
aggressive type of personality, aggressive on both sides of the ball. If there comes a
game when our defense is playing well, I will play toward that occasionally and manage the
game in that fashion. You may see some differences week to week.
Q: Have you resigned yourself to the fact that Barry Sanders will never play for the
Lions again?
A: I have not tried to call Barry up to this point. Now, there will come a time when I
give him a call. Matt Millen has talked to him personally multiple times, I believe. With
Barry, here’s the thing: Barry’s a Detroit Lion in my eyes, I think in most
people’s eyes. Always has been, probably always will be. I personally would love to
have him associated with the Lions. Now, in what capacity? Some of that would be up to
him. And he has publicly stated on a couple of occasions, to my knowledge, that he is
happy in retirement. So, first, I would love to have him associated with us. If he were to
want to play, geez, as a coach, I would love to do that. But what the odds are, I
don’t know. That’s going to be up to Barry Sanders.
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