Reeling Lions clean house yet again, fire general manager and president

Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell, left, talks with general manager Martin Mayhew during NFL football training camp in Allen Park, Mich., Friday, Aug. 7, 2015. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) It doesn’t seem like it was only less than a year ago that the Detroit Lions were in the playoffs, giving the Dallas Cowboys everything they could handle (and, some would say, were robbed by a bad call).

The Lions are 1-7 and starting over. General manager Martin Mayhew and team president Tom Lewand, ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported. Lewand had been president and Mayhew was the general manager since 2008. Mayhew was an assistant under Matt Millen and took over the job when Millen was fired.

Last week, the Lions shook up the coaching staff, firing offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and two offensive line coaches. Now the general manager and team president are gone. Head coach Jim Caldwell likely is next, assuming the new brass wants to start over with their own coach.

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The Lions jobs aren’t particularly appealing, in a way the Tennessee Titans’ vacancy is, for one example. The Titans have a promising rookie quarterback in Marcus Mariota and mostly a clean slate to build around him. The Lions have a veteran quarterback in Matthew Stafford who is paid like one of the NFL’s best but has been regressing all season. Stafford is in his seventh season, though he will be just 28 years old next season. But a new general manager and coach will have to assume that he’ll have to build a team around Stafford and figure out a way to turn him into the franchise quarterback that the Lions have hoped he would become. One could argue Stafford hasn’t had a ton of help from his supporting cast, especially a poor offensive line, though the shaky roster is another reason the Lions job isn’t optimal.

The Lions are also burdened by history. They have never been to a Super Bowl. The last playoff game they won was Jan. 5, 1992. They haven’t won a division title since the 1993 season. The Lions have had arguably a top-five all-time running back in Barry Sanders and a top-five all-time receiver in Calvin Johnson and virtually nothing to show for it.

Now the Lions are starting from scratch. Again. Although Caldwell is one of the last men standing, one has to assume he won’t survive the carnage either.