Mariucci picked his coaches, now it's time to pick the players

Steve Mariucci must be tired from all his hiring and firing. Mooch picked up another member of his coaching staff this week, George Catavolos. Catavolos is a 19-year NFL veteran who was most recently with the Washington Redskins, but has also worked for the Indianapolis Colts and the Carolina Panthers.

Mariucci has replaced many of his assistants, which I believe was essential in making this team into a winner. Of course, you can have the best coaches on a team and still lose if you have no talent. It is now time for the Detroit Lion coaching staff to let some players go and get some quality free agents.

The Detroit Lions are $15 million under the salary cap, which puts them in an excellent position to improve significantly from last year. It is time to let go of Luther Elliss, Robert Porcher and James Stewart, along with many of the other free agents on the team.

In fact, if the Lions let go of all the free agents on the team, it would not bother me. New players will bring a new attitude to the Lions which this team has been lacking over the last couple of years. The other Lion head coaches that were hired and subsequently fired did not do the housecleaning necessary to develop a winning team. Mariucci got rid of unproductive coaches and now is in a position to release or not sign unproductive players.

An obvious free agent that the Lions should go after is Champ Bailey of the Redskins. Having been coached by Catavolos in Washington would make it an easy transition for him. Of course, with his brother Boss Bailey in Detroit already, Champ would be more comfortable here than in any other NFL city. Both brothers went to college at Georgia and have mentioned before about playing on the same NFL team.

Recently, the Redskins have allowed Bailey to pursue a trade, because they are having trouble signing him. Is he worth the sixth pick in the draft? I don't think the Lions should trade the pick for Bailey, but that is up to Mariucci and Matt Millen to decide.

The Lions have talked about taking Sean Taylor, safety out of the University of Miami, with the sixth pick. I believe this would be an excellent choice, especially if they do not sign Bailey. Of course, the Lions also need a pass rusher, running back, and perhaps another wide receiver to make the team a solid contender.

This could be one of the most exciting off seasons in many years. The Lions have new life in the coaching staff with new ideas about winning. Mariucci seems to have been evaluating the situation in Detroit all year and has made the moves to help him coach this team to the playoffs and eventually the Super Bowl. Now, the staff can get busy with rating the college players in the upcoming draft and picking up free agents to fill out the roster. Lion fans have a reason to be excited about the future again.