FOUR-TIME SUPER BOWL CHAMPION MATT MILLEN JOINS NBC SPORTS' SUPER BOWL XLIII COVERAGE
"He is one of the very best football broadcasters of his generation." � Ebersol
"a delight, someone with strong opinions who wasn't afraid to express them to the media and on the air." � AP on Millen the broadcaster
NEW YORK � January 5, 2008 � Former NFL player, executive and broadcaster Matt Millen will join NBC's pre-game coverage of Super Bowl XLIII it was announced today by Dick Ebersol, Chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics. This past weekend, Millen returned to television as a studio analyst on NBC's special Wild Card Saturday edition of "Football Night in America."
"Many of us have been blessed with second chances and fortunate to have new opportunities," said Ebersol. "But the decision to have Matt join us for the Super Bowl was simple given that he is one of the very best football broadcasters of his generation."
Millen won four Super Bowl rings with three teams in his 11-year career. Following his playing career, he entered the broadcast ranks working on NFL games for CBS, Westwood One radio and then Fox Sports. With Fox, Millen earned accolades for his analysis as a member of Fox's number two broadcast team with Dick Stockton. The Associated Press called Millen "a delight, someone with strong opinions who wasn't afraid to express them to the media and on the air."
In 2001, Millen left the broadcast booth and joined the executive ranks of the Detroit Lions where he served as team president until September of 2008.
During "Football Night in America" Saturday, Millen discussed his Lions' tenure in an interview with "Football Night's" Dan Patrick. Excerpts follow:
PATRICK: "Would you have fired you?"
MILLEN: "I would have, actually. Probably not this year until after the season."
ON WATCHING THE LIONS GO 0-16 AFTER HE WAS FIRED: "It was brutal. Obviously knowing everybody up there, knowing and understanding the details, watching it unfold, it was probably harder watching it from home than it was when you're up there."
PATRICK: "How responsible were you for this season and the last eight years there?"
MILLEN: "Oh, completely responsible. When you're head of football operations, you throw it back on me."
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