Matt Millen gave Detroit Lions fans an early holiday gift Sunday afternoon: An apology.

The former Lions president and general manager said he was sorry for his tenure with the Lions while calling the Buccaneers-Colts game for FOX, where he is now an analyst.

“It was a little bit of a tactical error on my part. We had this fleeting dream that I thought maybe I could run a team,” Millen said, poking fun at himself. “Sorry Detroit, it didn’t quite work out.”

Millen’s time with the Lions came up during the broadcast because he was working with veteran play-by-play man Dick Stockton, his initial television partner before he left to run the Lions from 2001 to 2008.

“It was a great experience, though, Dick,” Millen said. “It was one of those things that you had to do, you can’t turn it down. And we did it and so, we move on.”

Millen’s time in Detroit was, in a word, bad. Lions fans protested against Millen throughout the city for years until his eventual firing in the middle of the team's winless season in 2008, with chants of “Fire Millen” popping up at sporting events throughout the Detroit area. There was even the Millen Man March in 2005.

Millen went 31-84 as Detroit’s general manager, with a history of poor draft picks that eventually led to the Lions’ 0-16 season in 2008. He was replaced by his right-hand man, Martin Mayhew. Mayhew held onto the job until earlier this month when owner Martha Ford fired him and team president Tom Lewand, who was also hired after Millen’s firing.

The Lions are searching for a new general manager and have hired Rod Wood to take over as president.