ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, January 14, 1997 TAG: 9701140072
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: PONTIAC, MICH.
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
THE VMI ALUMNUS gets a five-year deal worth $7.5 million to coach Detroit.
Bobby Ross is the new coach of the Detroit Lions, bringing stern discipline and a drive for perfection.
``I want perfect practices,'' said Ross, whose appointment was announced at a news conference Monday. ``Perfect practices make for perfect games.''
The Lions have had few of those lately, completing a 5-11 season that culminated with coach Wayne Fontes' firing Dec.26.
Ross, who resigned Jan.3 after five years as coach of the San Diego Chargers, signed a five-year contract reportedly worth $7.5 million.
He will have the final say in all personnel moves involving trades, free agency and the draft. Detroit has the fifth pick in the NFL draft.
``It's not so much where you work as the people that you work with and the people that you work for,'' Ross said, calling Detroit ``as fine an organization as there is in the National Football League.''
Ross took the Chargers to the Super Bowl in 1995. Detroit has never played in the showcase game, and that now becomes Ross' aim.
``When you're not playing at this time of the year, it eats away at you; I mean, it really does,'' he said.
At first glance, Ross, 60, appears to be everything Fontes was not. Fontes, who spent eight full seasons with the Lions, was a jovial, charismatic coach who seemed to go from one crisis to another. He often got by on little more than a joke and a hug.
There will be no hugs from Ross, who got his start as a three-sport athlete at VMI.
``The fact that I have a military background doesn't mean I would be a disciplinarian,'' Ross said. ``I do think discipline is important. But I think discipline needs to be consistent. I'm a firm believer that `we' comes before `me.'''
The Lions' job was considered one of the NFL's plums, mainly because of team owner William Clay Ford. He said initial plans to interview a variety of prospects were scrapped once Ross entered the picture.
``When Bobby became available, our wide angle changed to a very narrow-focused lens,'' Ford said. ``We got Bobby in the cross hairs and he was our target. He looked like he was exactly the person that we were trying to get, and luckily, we got him.''
Ross plans to bring some of his staff from San Diego to Detroit. He wouldn't be specific, but offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen has been with Ross for 20 years and is likely to follow him to Detroit.
During Ross' tenure in San Diego, the Chargers had records of 11-5, 8-8, 11-5, 9-7 and 8-8. They won the AFC title in the 1994 season, losing 49-26 to the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl.
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP Bobby Ross will have almost total authority inby CNBpersonnel matters as the new coach of the Detroit Lions.