Detroit ? Funny thing about Matt Millen. His ears are only a few inches from his mouth, yet he never seems to hear what he says.

If he did, he’d quit.

He’d hear himself say, “This is a brutal business, and at times, good people suffer a cruel fate,” and then he’d say, “Hmmm. Maybe that means me.”

Look, Steve Mariucci did a poor job here. He lost the confidence of too many players, never adjusted to his personnel and deserved to be fired.

But Millen hired Mariucci. And Millen hired Marty Mornhinweg before that. Millen passed up John Fox and Marvin Lewis and Charlie Weis and Jack Del Rio and Lovie Smith and others.

Millen drafted Joey Harrington and finesse receivers, then hired a coach who relies on a West Coast offense that doesn’t suit any of them.

Millen built the organization, top to bottom. And his 20-55 record is easily the worst in the league.

Hey, Matt. You are the worst executive in the NFL. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and is staring back at you from a mirror, you’re a duck.

Eleven games into Millen’s fifth season, he hasn’t even figured out how to fire a coach. Millen said he made the decision after “lengthy discussions over the weekend with Mr. Ford and Bill Ford.” This could mean three things, all of which stink:

1. Millen is actually relying on William Clay Ford for football knowledge. Yikes.

2. After watching Mariucci coach for 43 games, Millen needed four days to figure out if he wanted to make a change.

3. Millen wanted to fire Mariucci on Friday, but he couldn’t convince the Fords to pull the trigger. If that’s the case (and I certainly believe it is), then Millen let word filter out before he had approval from the Fords, which is just another indication of how dysfunctional this organization is.

In a parallel universe-or another franchise-Millen would have been worried that the owner would sack him, too. But Millen just received a contract extension.

“Am I surprised by the patience of the ownership?” Millen asked. “Let me say this… would I be surprised by it? I’m surprised by patience with anybody.”

Maybe if Ford waits another decade, the Lions will have a discernible philosophy. Look around town. You know the Pistons believe in teamwork and defense. The Red Wings rely on puck possession and skill.

What are the Lions counting on? Bad officiating?

I have no idea. All I know is that Millen stepped to the microphone Monday and delivered bad news:

“We’ve not won here for a long, long time.”

No, wait. That’s not news. That’s like saying it’s been a long, long time since North America was attached to Europe.

Matt Millen said it himself: This is a brutal business. And at times, good people have to watch a horrible football team, year after year, because the owner doesn’t have the brains to fire the president, and the president doesn’t have the guts to fire himself.