At the end of a 9-7 season in 2000 that saw the Detroit Lions miss out on the playoffs on a last-second field goal in the last game of the year, owner William Clay Ford decided it was time to rebuild. Instead of keeping the nucleus of the team intact and trying to make a few small changes to put it over the hump, he hired Matt Millen, a former player and TV analyst with no experience scouting, managing a draft, or dealing with player contracts, and gave him the title of President and CEO, with total control of the franchise.

Four years later, the Lions have compiled the NFL’s worst record in that span at 16-48. Most Lions fans blame Millen for that. They ought to blame Ford.

Stunningly, the Lions announced yesterday that Ford and Millen had agreed to a five-year contract extension that will keep Millen in charge of the team through the 2010 season. Ford, who inherited the automobile fortune of his grandfather, Henry Ford, has always been in Millen’s corner, no matter how angry Lions fans get at the team’s lack of progress. Millen’s initial contract was set to expire at the end of this season, which would have made it a perfect time for Ford to issue him an ultimatum: Make the playoffs or you’re done. But Ford has never thought in those terms. Late last season, Ford said he wanted Millen to stick around for a long time. “I couldn’t be happier with the job he’s doing,” the owner said, even though at the time, the Lions were 15-45 during Millen’s tenure.

Ford has consistently overlooked Millen’s many missteps, including:

* Hiring the inexperienced Marty Mornhinweg as the Lions’ coach in 2001. Mornhinweg went 2-14 in his first season and 3-13 in his second before being fired.

* Signing receiver Az Hakim to a contract worthy of a no. 1 receiver, when in reality he’s never been anything more than a no. 3. Hakim made $8.8 million in three subpar years with the Lions, who released him this off-season.

* Presiding over drafts that included picking the inaccurate quarterback Joey Harrington with the third overall pick in 2002 and the overly fragile receiver Charles Rogers with the second overall pick in 2003. Ford has already paid those two players about $35 million combined, even though Harrington has been a pedestrian player at best and Rogers hasn’t been able to stay on the field.

So why does Millen still have the job when Ford decided to rebuild after the previous regime turned in a 9-7 effort? One reason is that the Lions’ losing record hasn’t affected their bottom line. In a league where the television revenue is evenly split, the primary financial concern for owners is selling tickets, and the Lions have sold out every game they’ve played in the beautiful new Ford Field in downtown Detroit, the stadium that will host this season’s Super Bowl. Millen had the good luck of arriving with the new stadium.

But more importantly, Millen keeps his job because Ford likes him. In 2000, coach and general manager Bobby Ross resigned midway through the season, and interim coach Gary Moeller finished that 9-7 year. So Millen wasn’t replacing someone Ford had a close relationship with. In 2002, Detroit News columnist Joe Falls wrote, “I always believed that Ford, who is a decent man, judged his coaches on how they made him feel – hopefully, confident – instead of their ability to coach.”

It’s that attitude that makes Ford beloved by his employees, and it’s that attitude that makes it unlikely the Lions will build a winner while he owns the team.

That applies not only to coaches, but also to the front-office personnel. And Millen, as anyone who watched him diagram plays as a TV announcer can attest, can make Ford feel confident. Millen was a colorful, insightful analyst on television, and there’s no doubt that in conversations with Ford he’s able to convey that mixture of knowledge and enthusiasm that so many fans enjoyed hearing. That, more than winning, is what Ford seems to value.

Ford has never been cut out of the George Steinbrenner mold. Rather, he’s known for being laid-back and easygoing. In the four decades that he’s owned the team, his Lions have won only one playoff game, but it takes years of losing before Ford can bring himself to fire a coach or general manager. Former Lions coach Wayne Fontes became the longest tenured coach in the league despite having a losing record, in large part because he and Ford had a warm personal relationship.

Many fans dislike Steinbrenner, but no one questions his commitment to winning. Lions fans, on the other hand, have to accept that Ford would rather lose games than ruffle feathers.

During Millen’s second season at the helm, Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press asked Millen if he was in over his head. “That’s a great question,” Millen responded. “And the answer is I don’t know. What makes you in over your head?”

If you ask Lions fans, a 16-48 record makes you in over your head. If you ask William Clay Ford, a 16-48 record earns you another five years of employment.

Mr. Smith writes for the statistical Web site FootballOutsiders.com.