Don Muhlbach has seen more bad football than anyone should be allowed to witness in his 16 seasons in Detroit.
He was there when the team fired Steve Mariucci in November of 2005, there when fans staged a Millen Man March a few weeks later (and again the next year), there when the Lions became the first team in NFL history to go 0-16.
But as bad this season was — and with nine straight losses to end the year and a 3-12-1 record that secured the Lions the third pick in April’s NFL draft, it was pretty awful — Muhlbach said there’s no comparison to the hopelessness he experienced early in his career.