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Lowly Lions Might Surpass 0-14 Bucs For Most Losses

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By IRA KAUFMAN

ikaufman@tampatrib.com

Published: November 22, 2008

Updated: 11/22/2008 12:23 am

TAMPA - As the losses mount for the Detroit Lions, the NFL history book beckons a little closer.

Rod Marinelli's club is 0-10 heading into Sunday's home matchup against Tampa Bay. While the Lions are still playing hard, they are running out of time in an effort to avoid joining the 1976 Bucs as the only team of the modern NFL era to lose every game in a season.

Unlike those Bucs, who were coached by John McKay, Detroit is hardly an expansion team. The Lions began play in 1930, and with five former Bucs potentially starting on defense Sunday they are desperate to post an initial victory.

"Part of me says I want somebody to go 0-16 because we were 0-14 and that would take that monkey off our back," said Barry Smith, a wide receiver on the '76 Bucs team that was outscored 412-125 and remains a lasting image of pro football in the state of Florida. "At the same time, I don't think I want any human being to go through what we did."

Ex-Bucs cornerback Brian Kelly admits his first year in Detroit has been quite a challenge.

"It's tough," Kelly said. "I've won in the past with a similar system, but I wouldn't want to go through any situation like this with anyone but Rod Marinelli."

With games remaining against Tampa Bay, the unbeaten Titans, Minnesota, Indianapolis, New Orleans and Green Bay, the Lions are trying to save jobs and end comparisons to the 1976 Tampa Bay club that operated on the cheap under former owner Hugh Culverhouse.

"If the Lions go winless, I realize they'll be the first team to do that since our team, but I wouldn't wish that on anybody," said ex-linebacker Larry Ball, who played for the perfect 1972 Dolphins and the perfectly awful 1976 Bucs. "I think it would be even worse to do it in 2008, because back then we weren't able to sign any free agents."

If the losing wasn't bad enough, the '76 Bucs had to cope with Culverhouse's constant efforts to keep costs down.

"I think our charter airline kind of summed up that entire 1976 season," said Falcons president Rich McKay, then a Bucs ball boy. "McCullough Airlines was much worse than you could ever imagine. Coming home after our first game at Houston, we barely got off the ground - we might have hit the fence.

"We played at Denver later in the year and I can remember Culverhouse paying for the gasoline with his personal credit card because McCullough had no credit left at that point."

The Lions are still traveling in style, but they're hardly traveling well.

"Sometimes it may not look that way, but the want-to on this team is very good," said Marinelli, 10-32 since arriving in Motown in 2006. "Sometimes you can go hard but as players and coaches not go smart."

Steve Young, the starting left tackle on the '76 Bucs, is watching Detroit's travails with a mixture of empathy and curiosity.

"I won't feel bad if someone breaks that 0-14 record," he said. "All I know is we had 143 guys come through training camp that year. We went into every game, except maybe the Pittsburgh game 42-0, thinking we could win. We had Denver on the ropes and we were a novelty. It was really fun when the Bucs started having success under Tony Dungy, because then it was OK to look back."

Some members of that '76 team still live in the Bay area and they remain close, bonded by the anguish of shared adversity.

After games that season, they would gather at the home of quarterback Steve Spurrier to drink in the experience.

"When the games were over, you didn't want to go out in public," Smith said. "Spurrier was a very good leader and basically we went to Steve's house and partied until the sun came up. Then it was safe to go home."

The Lions don't feel safe at Ford Field, where they are yielding an average of 36 points per game, despite the presence of Marinelli and defensive coordinator Joe Barry, both former Bucs assistants well versed in Monte Kiffin's Tampa 2.

"You'd be proud of these guys in terms of how resilient they are," Marinelli said. "In terms of practice and preparing, I'm extremely proud of these men."

According to Smith, John McKay had a rude awakening in Tampa after winning four national championships at Southern Cal.

"It shocked him because Coach McKay thought he could step right into the NFL and have the success he had at USC," Smith said. "Everybody busted their rears to win, but it just didn't happen."

Reporter Ira Kaufman can be reached at (813) 259-7833.

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