2003 Detroit Lions season

The 2003 Detroit Lions season was the 74th season in the National Football League (NFL).

2003 Detroit Lions season
OwnerWilliam Clay Ford, Sr.
General managerMatt Millen
Head coachSteve Mariucci
Home fieldFord Field
Results
Record5–11
Division place4th NFC North
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersCB Dre Bly
Uniform

Prior to the season, the Lions hired Steve Mariucci, who was well known for his tenure with the San Francisco 49ers, as their head coach. He spent two and a half seasons with the Lions until his firing in November 2005.

The season saw the team draft Charles Rogers with the second overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft. However, on-and-off the field issues, and later injuries, interrupted his career. He was released by the Lions in 2006, and though he received tryouts with multiple teams he never returned to the NFL.[1] He died on November 11, 2019, due to liver failure.[2]

During the offseason, the Lions introduced a new logo, with the outline of the lion changing to black. While the Lions improved on their 3–13, second-to-last place finish from last year, they overall didn't put an end to their on-the-field problems, and went 5–11, for their third losing season in a row. This gave the Lions their third consecutive last place finish in their division, tracing back to their 2001 season, their final year in the NFC Central.

Offseason

The Lions bolstered their defense by signing linebacker Earl Holmes, defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson and cornerback Dré Bly.

NFL Draft
Main article: 2003 NFL Draft
2003 Detroit Lions draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 2 Charles Rogers  WR Michigan State
2 34 Boss Bailey  LB Georgia
3 66 Cory Redding  DT Texas
4 99 Artose Pinner  RB Kentucky
5 137 Terrence Holt  S NC State
5 144 James Davis  LB West Virginia
6 175 David Kircus  WR Grand Valley State
7 216 Ben Johnson  OT Wisconsin
7 220 Blue Adams  CB Cincinnati From Arizona
7 236 Brandon Drumm  RB Colorado From Cleveland via San Diego and Dallas
7 260 Travis Anglin  WR Memphis supplemental compensatory
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff
2003 Detroit Lions staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Jason Arapoff
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Malcolm Blacken

[3]

Roster
2003 Detroit Lions final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
 53 active, 15 inactive, 5 practice squad

Schedule

In addition to their regular games with NFC North divisional rivals, the Lions played teams from the NFC West and AFC West according to the NFL's schedule rotation, and also played games against the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys, who had finished fourth in their respective divisions in 2002.

Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance
1 September 7 Arizona Cardinals W 42–24 1–0 60,691
2 September 14 at Green Bay Packers L 6–31 1–1 70,244
3 September 21 Minnesota Vikings L 13–23 1–2 60,865
4 September 28 at Denver Broncos L 16–20 1–3 75,719
5 October 5 at San Francisco 49ers L 17–24 1–4 67,365
6 Bye
7 October 19 Dallas Cowboys L 7–38 1–5 61,160
8 October 26 at Chicago Bears L 16–24 1–6 61,428
9 November 2 Oakland Raiders W 23–13 2–6 61,561
10 November 9 Chicago Bears W 12–10 3–6 61,492
11 November 16 at Seattle Seahawks L 14–35 3–7 65,865
12 November 23 at Minnesota Vikings L 14–24 3–8 63,946
13 November 27 Green Bay Packers W 22–14 4–8 62,123
14 December 7 San Diego Chargers L 7–14 4–9 61,544
15 December 14 at Kansas City Chiefs L 17–45 4–10 77,922
16 December 21 at Carolina Panthers L 14–20 4–11 72,835
17 December 28 St. Louis Rams W 30–20 5–11 61,006

Game summaries

Week 1
1 234Total
Cardinals 7 7100 24
• Lions 7 71414 42
Scoring summary
1ARIAnquan Boldin 7 yard pass from Jeff Blake (Bill Gramatica kick)Cardinals 7–0
1DETCharles Rogers 4 yard pass from Joey Harrington (Jason Hanson kick)Tie 7–7
2DETCharles Rogers 13 yard pass from Joey Harrington (Jason Hanson kick)Lions 14–7
2ARIFreddie Jones 12 yard pass from Jeff Blake (Bill Gramatica kick)Tie 14–14
3ARIAnquan Boldin 71 yard pass from Jeff Blake (Bill Gramatica kick)Cardinals 21–14
3DETEddie Drummond 57 yard punt return (Jason Hanson kick)Tie 21–21
3DETCory Schlesinger 8 yard pass from Joey Harrington (Jason Hanson kick)Lions 28–21
3ARIBill Gramatica 38 yard field goalLions 28–24
4DETBill Schroeder 5 yard pass from Joey Harrington (Jason Hanson kick)Lions 35–24
4DETDre' Bly 48 yard interception return (Jason Hanson kick)Lions 42–24

[4]

Week 9
1 234Total
Raiders 0 373 13
• Lions 10 076 23
Scoring summary
1DETJason Hanson 54 yard field goalLions 3–0
1DETOlandis Gary 2 yard run (Jason Hanson kick)Lions 10–0
2OAKSebastian Janikowski 55 yard field goalLions 10–3
3DETCory Schlesinger 33 yard pass from Joey Harrington (Jason Hanson kick)Lions 17–3
3OAKCharlie Garner 7 yard run (Sebastian Janikowski kick)Lions 17–10
4DETJason Hanson 42 yard field goalLions 20–10
4OAKSebastian Janikowski 24 yard field goalLions 20–13
4DETJason Hanson 39 yard field goalLions 23–13

[5]

Standings
NFC North
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(4) Green Bay Packers 10 6 0 .625 4–2 7–5 442 307 W4
Minnesota Vikings 9 7 0 .563 4–2 7–5 416 353 L1
Chicago Bears 7 9 0 .438 2–4 4–8 283 346 L1
Detroit Lions 5 11 0 .313 2–4 4–8 270 379 W1

References
  1. Staff (September 13, 2006). "Rogers' workout with Dolphins gets good marks from Saban". ESPN. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  2. Staff (November 11, 2019). "Charles Rogers, former Lions, Michigan State WR, dies at 38". ESPN. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  3. "Administration and Coaches". 2003 Detroit Lions Media Guide. pp. 4–29.
  4. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  5. Pro-Football-Reference.com
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