At least there will be great interest in the coin flip when Marty Mornhinweg’s Detroit Lions play the New England Patriots on Thanksgiving in Detroit. Mornhinweg still had his job Monday despite becoming only the ninth coach in NFL overtime history to win the coin toss and give up the ball. Only four have won.
“I made the decision, and it didn’t work, so it was a mistake,” Mornhinweg said Monday. “Put that one on me, I’ll take it. When those things work, then it’s pretty good.”
How he envisioned it working remained unclear. With the wind, Jason Hanson’s kickoff should have gone for a touchback, forcing the Bears to start from their 20. Had the Lions stopped them, say they punt against the wind from their 30 and get off a 35-yarder. That enables the Lions to take over at their 35. What’s the advantage? Where’s the percentage? Was he afraid Joey Harrington couldn’t throw as well as Jim Miller into the wind?
Mornhinweg said he didn’t think the decision that helped drop his record to 5-22 will cost him his job.
“Oh, no,” he said. “There’s a lot of people who would’ve done it just like I did it. Sometimes when this happens, it pulls everybody closer, a little tighter. … I’m not going to let you guys see me sweat.”
It might be that Mornhinweg is only ahead of his time. The NFL Players Association is considering proposing a rules change to allow both teams a possession before sudden death is instituted.
The coin flip became an integral part of Detroit’s Thanksgiving in 1998 when Pittsburgh’s Jerome Bettis changed his call in mid-flip and was denied his final answer by referee Phil Luckett. It led to the current NFL rule that requires visiting teams to declare heads or tails before the actual toss.
A notable promotion: Ozzie Newsome was promoted to general manager and executive vice president of the Baltimore Ravens on Monday, becoming the NFL’s only African-American with the title of general manager.
The Hall of Fame tight end of the Cleveland Browns had been senior vice president of football operations since 2001 and was the principal architect of the Ravens’ 2000 Super Bowl team as the director of player personnel.
“From a historical standpoint, this is very significant,” Newsome said. “I’m the only black general manager in the National Football League. Growing up in the South, there were a lot of times when I was one of the first. I was one of the first blacks to play Little League baseball. Sometimes it’s all about the right timing.”
Newsome, 46, already was responsible for most of the chores associated with being a general manager, and other NFL teams have had blacks in the similar role of vice president of player personnel. Even before the promotion, Newsome was the highest-ranking black official on an NFL team.
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“The new title reflects his duties and importance to the franchise,” Ravens owner Art Modell said.
In defense of Bucs: Coach Jon Gruden arrived in Tampa Bay from Oakland with a mandate to improve the offense, but he was smart enough to stick with defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin from the regime of Tony Dungy. The Bucs’ defense is No. 1 in the NFL.
Gruden said he learned during practices that the defense was something special.
“We tried every which way to throw a ball against them, to pick up the blitzes and you can see that there aren’t a lot of weak links on that side of the ball,” Gruden said.
In Driver’s seat: Packers receiver Donald Driver, once homeless as a youth with his mother and family in Houston, fought back tears Monday after signing a new five-year contract taking him off February’s free-agent market.
Terms were not disclosed, but signing bonuses for comparable free-agent receivers last year were in the $5 million to $7 million range. Driver had turned down a three-year, $3 million offer from Kansas City to stay in Green Bay for $563,000 and has emerged as Brett Favre’s No. 1 target.
The Packers revamped their entire receiving corps, letting Antonio Freeman, Bill Schroeder and Cory Bradford go in free agency. Driver gambled by staying, and it paid off. He has 53 receptions for 870 yards and seven touchdowns. In his first three seasons, he had 37 catches for 520 yards and three touchdowns.
“I have worked hard. I came in here as a seventh-round pick and never thought I would get the opportunity to be able to take care of my family. I have the opportunity to do it now,” Driver said. “When I talked to my grandmother today, it was just so surprising that I could tell her that she doesn’t have to work anymore. That was my goal for years and years.”
Driver grew up in Houston with four siblings and lived for a time out of a U-Haul truck after a collection agency confiscated his family’s belongings. Driver moved in with his grandmother when he was 14.
Injury report: All-Pro linebacker Ray Lewis will not play in the Baltimore Ravens’ remaining five games because he has chosen to undergo surgery on his injured left shoulder next week, the Baltimore Sun reported. . . . Marshall Faulk (ankle) could miss his third straight game when the Rams play at Philadelphia on Sunday. “To say he would be ready this week would be a stretch,” coach Mike Martz said Monday. . . . Vikings running back Michael Bennett is questionable for Sunday’s game against Atlanta because of a sprained right ankle. . . . Tennessee receiver Kevin Dyson might be out up to four weeks because of an injured right hamstring. . . . Dolphins quarterback Jay Fiedler (broken right thumb) could be cleared to practice Wednesday and hopes to return Dec. 9 against the Bears. . . . Chargers cornerback Ryan McNeil had surgery Monday on his broken right forearm and will miss Sunday’s home game against Denver.