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Who was Darryl Rogers? An offensive innovator with an acerbic wit

Darryl Rogers agreed to coach the Detroit Lions without knowing anything about them. Not their roster. Not their schedule. Not the offense. Not the defense.

"I cannot tell you one thing about the Lions," Rogers said in a news conference after he was hired. "We have not talked about anything except the contract."

Well, could you blame him?

Sometimes a little too much information can be a deterrent. Besides, Rogers had made his name at Michigan State as an offensive innovator, as a pass-happy coach who showed Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes a quarterback's arm could be useful.