Detroit Lions: The enduring legacy of Matt Millen

For so long Matt Millen was the target of my football ire. But with his current health diagnosis, I would like to take a look back at his Detroit Lions legacy.

Bleacher Report NFL feature writer and contributor to The Athletic Chicago, Dan Pompei, wrote a wonderful piece on the life and career of former Detroit Lions team president/CEO Matt Millen.

To be perfectly honest, after his departure from the Lions, I generally tried to avoid anything that the man was associated with due to my hard feelings over Detroit’s lack of success during his seven full seasons leading the team.

Once Millen made the transition back to the broadcast booth, I would watch the telecasts that he was assigned to begrudgingly, muttering under my breath about how he had ruined the Lions nearly every time he opened his mouth or appeared on the screen.

Ultimately though, the passage of time eventually eliminated any ill will that I previously held against a man that I had never met and once I learned of his diagnosis with amyloidosis, my heart completely went out to Millen and his family and the terribly difficult circumstances that they are currently navigating.

Amyloidosis degrades a person’s heart by causing their bone marrow to create malicious proteins that attack the way it functions for the body.

The same body that is now being ravaged from within was a terror on the football field during a memorable 12-year NFL playing career.