Detroit Lions vice chairman Bill Ford Jr., the son of and heir apparent to the team’s owner, William Clay Ford, was widely viewed as instrumental in the team’s decision to hand over the front office to Matt Millen after the 2000 season.

So it’s noteworthy that when asked to assess Millen at the league meeting in Florida, Ford dodged the question.

When asked by Nicholas J. Cotsonika of the Detroit Free Press whether he thinks as highly of Millen now as he did when Millen got the job, Ford replied, “Matt doesn’t report to me, and as a result, it’s probably not right that I comment on it.”

Of course, Lions coach Rod Marinelli doesn’t report to Ford, either, but that didn’t stop Ford from commenting about Marinelli, whom he praised in the same interview. Lions linebacker Ernie Sims certainly doesn’t report to Ford, but Ford expressed favorable opinions about Sims, too.

Obviously, the reason Ford won’t comment on Millen isn’t that he can’t comment on people who don’t report to him, it’s that he doesn’t want to comment on Millen because any fair appraisal of Millen’s tenure in Detroit would label it a failure, and that would lead to the obvious question of why Ford’s dad hasn’t fired Millen.

And that’s a reminder that for as bad as Millen’s record in Detroit is, it really doesn’t matter what anyone thinks. In any occupation, to keep your job the only person you have to please is the person with the authority to fire you. With the Lions that person is William Clay Ford Sr., and he’ still has confidence in Millen, even if his son doesn’t share that confidence.