After Giving Hope, Fontes Finally Fired

Wayne Fontes, who won and lost more games than any coach in Detroit Lions’ history, was fired Thursday after the team’s worst performance in four years.

A playoff flop, Fontes was dismissed after eight seasons, making him the sixth NFL coach to lose his job since the season ended last weekend. It was no surprise because Fontes’ job has been in jeopardy for the past three seasons.

“I want to say it’s been a great eight years,” said Fontes, who made a surprise appearance at the news conference where team owner William Clay Ford announced the firing. “We gave you guys some hope. When we came here, we never had that.”

Fontes, with one year left on his contract, goes out with a 67-71 record, including 5-11 this season. He was only 1-4 in the playoffs, and that, as much as anything, led to his downfall.

“He whetted our appetite by winning that first playoff game,” Ford said. “But this is the culmination of a lot of things, topped off by the fact that this season was such a disappointment.”

“Don’t feel sorry for me,” said Fontes, wearing his trademark smile and a leather jacket in the Lions’ blue and silver colors. “It’s a chapter in my life that’s over. But I aim to remain a Lion.”

The Lions got off to a 4-2 start this season, but they began slipping when injuries undermined an already undermanned defensive unit. And the offense, the NFL’s most prolific in 1995, also fell off.

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Minnesota Viking cornerback Corey Fuller has been fined $30,000, nearly 10% of his base salary, for poking Green Bay center Frank Winters in the eye Sunday. Winters also was fined $7,500 for a late hit that provoked Fuller.

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New Orleans Saint owner Tom Benson plans to hire a new president-general manager who will in turn hire a coach.

“I have no timetable. I will conduct the process as quickly and efficiently as possible. However, these decisions are very important to the future of this franchise, and I will not be hurried,” Benson said in a news release.

He left unresolved the futures of General Manager Bill Kuharich and Rick Venturi, the interim head coach elevated from a linebacker assistant’s post after Jim Mora’s abrupt resignation after a 2-6 start. The Saints finished 3-13.