Matt Millen: Time with Lions was job that 'never ends'

The Detroit News / Detroit News staff

Former Lions president Matt Millen, now a broadcast analyst with ESPN and the NFL Network, was asked to compare his current and former jobs in a media conference call Thursday. His answer no doubt will illicit groans in Detroit.

"When you're in the big seat, that job never ends, ever," said Millen, oft-criticized for not spending enough time on the job in Allen Park. "There's no off time. There are always problems -- there's always something that has to get taken care of. From the analyst side, when the game's over, the game's over. Certainly all the preparation stuff goes into the front end of it, but when it's over, it's done. You go home and you can sleep. The other one, you don't sleep."

Millen was also asked if he felt his unsuccessful time with the Lions damaged his credibility as an analyst, he said that is out of his hands.

"I just stick with the game and stick with what's going on the field and talk about that, that's all I can do," he said. "The rest of it is all somebody else's opinion. If there's credibility, there's credibility. But that can only be given from you, not from me. That's how I approach it."