Detroit Lions

2002 record: 2002 record: 3-13 Departing Head Coach: Marty Mornhinweg, 5-27 (2001-02) New Head Coach: Steve Mariucci Previous NFL head coaching experience: Went 60-43 with the San Francisco 49ers (1997-2002), reaching the playoffs four times. One of 13 NFL head coaches since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970 to lead his team to a division title in his first season. Background: Three-time All-American quarterback at Northern Michigan, quarterbacks coach Green Bay Packers (1992-95), head coach at University of California (1996). , defeated Giants 39-38 in wildcard playoffs, lost to Bucs 31-6 in divisional playoffs.

The Detroit Lions have slowly, diligently built a tradition -- a bad one.

Under Marty Mornhinweg, they lost 27 of 32 games and the franchise has won only one playoff game since 1957.

As Detroit Free Press columnist Michael Rosenberg observed, the Lions normally greet new coaches "with an open coffin and a pillow."

Into this void steps Steve Mariucci, who took the San Francisco 49ers to the playoffs four times in his six seasons there. Issues with management sent Mariucci looking elsewhere and, apparently, home is where the heart is for the 47-year-old son of Iron Mountain, Mich.

The Lions, frankly, were lucky to get Mariucci. The head coaching situation there has been a perpetual disaster; they haven't had a sustained, consistent winner since George Wilson (1957-64). By hiring Mariucci, the Lions hope to correct the alarming drift that occurred under the overmatched Mornhinweg the last two seasons. With a new stadium, the Lions are trying to make a good impression, and public relations is one of the things at which Mariucci excels.

Detroit drafted Michigan State wide receiver Charles Rogers with the second overall draft pick, but it will take more than him and second-year quarterback Joey Harrington to pull the Lions out of the depths.

That's where Mariucci comes in.

So what do we have here, exactly?

"Geez, I've been asked that a lot," Mariucci said before the Lions' first preseason game. "Not just by the media but by my personal friends. 'What do you think you've got there? What kind of team?' I don't know."

The consensus is that the Lions will struggle to win five or six games but, based on Mariucci's track record, will gradually improve. Treating his team like the young child it is, Mariucci is being careful to sound positive and promote self-esteem.

"Right now our strength is good, solid work ethic," Mariucci said. "Guys care about being better -- it's important to them. We'll start with that and then find out as we start to play other teams where our strengths lie."

Greg Garber is a senior writer at ESPN.com.