There was great irony in the tale of Doug English. For he was there when his absence wouldn't have mattered a lick, then chose to sit out when he could have made a big difference.
English, one of the best defensive linemen to ever play in Detroit, was a beaten down, frustrated football player by the close of the 1979 season. The year prior, the Lions had finished strong, winning six of their last nine games under new coach Monte Clark. The 7-9 overall record was mediocre, but there were high hopes heading into the off-season. Some "experts" picked the Lions to win their division in 1979.
But in the final exhibition game of the season, starting QB Gary Danielson went down with a season-ending leg injury. Then, in the season opener, backup-turned starter Joe Reed was also lost due to injury. That placed the signal-calling responsibility on the shoulders of Jeff Komlo, a rookie from Delaware. The results were predictable.
The Lions were awful in '79, finishing 2-14. The entire reason for that could not be directed at Komlo, because there were many guilty parties. The running game was non-existent. The secondary was like a sieve. And there was Komlo, who struggled mightily, as you would expect from a rookie thrust into the starter's role from third string.
After the season, English -- one of the team's few stars -- decided he had had enough of pro football. He informed the Lions that he was retiring -- at age 26 -- to pursue interests in the oil business. English was a Texas kid, through and through. He played high school ball in Dallas. He went to the University of Texas, and was the Lions' second round pick in the 1975 draft. So back to Texas he went, in the heart of American oil country.
His departure left a void in the Lions' D-line, but with the drafting of Billy Sims and the return of Danielson, the team came together nicely. The Lions started 4-0, and appeared on their way to a playoff spot. English's absence wasn't being felt all that much. The Lions still had DE Bubba Baker, and interior guys like Dave Pureifory. They were tough to run against.
But as the season wore on, and teams played the Lions tougher, the W/L record suffered. Eventually, a 4-0 start turned into 7-7. Despite winning their final two games, the Lions were bumped out of the playoffs by the Minnesota Vikings (naturally) when the Vikings won a late-season contest against the Cleveland Browns on a Hail Mary pass (naturally) that was somehow corraled by Ahmad Rashad.
It's impossible to know for sure, but I have a feeling that if Doug English was playing in 1980, the Lions' defense, which tired as the season went on, might have stood up better and could have managed the one more victory it needed to surpass the Vikes.
Buoyed by the team's resurgence, and not having made a killing in the oil business, English returned to the Lions in 1981. And again the team lost a playoff bid late, getting upset at home by Tampa Bay on the final Sunday, in the Silverdome.
English continued his fine play in subsequent years. In 1983, when the Lions finally won the Central Division, English had 13 sacks, making the Pro Bowl for the third straight season.
Ahh, but there's still the matter of "what if?" when it comes to Doug English.
When Darryl "What's a guy got to do to get fired around here?" Rogers was hired in 1985, the Lions switched to a 3-4 defense, as most teams in the NFL were doing at the time. This turned English from a DT to a nose tackle, a position that didn't really suit him. He was undersized, for starters, at 260 pounds, and never excelled in the new scheme. Then he hurt his neck in a game against the Bears, playing the unfamiliar NT position, and the injury was serious enough to force him to retire at age 32. So despite how good his career was, you couldn't help but think that it might have been even better if it wasn't for the change of schemes and the neck injury.
Interesting tidbit: English co-holds the NFL career record for most safeties recorded by one player, with four.
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