Scott Mitchell, a former Detroit Lions quarterback spanning 1994–1998, has voiced dissatisfaction with Amazon’s documentary, “Bye, Bye, Barry,” centered on Barry Sanders. The documentary is centered on the life and career of Barry Sanders, and a lot of the team’s struggles are also covered, including the reason behind Sanders’ abrupt retirement.
But Mitchell got infuriated after watching this documentary and took to Facebook to articulate his discontent, specifically addressing his concerns regarding the depiction of his role in the film.
Why did Scott Mitchell drop the F-bomb on Eminem?
Mitchell was not featured in the documentary but took offense to the theme that the Lions lacked a star quarterback, indirectly pointing fingers at him. The former QB particularly took issue with being blamed for Sanders not winning a Super Bowl during his time with the Lions, a team with Honolulu blue and silver colored outfits.
Mitchell felt personally attacked, expressing frustration on Facebook.
“However, I am so tired of hearing how I was the reason that Barry Sanders never won a Super Bowl,” Mitchell said on Facebook. “I’m so tired of hearing how I was not a good QB. My only response is F*** YOU ALL!!!!! That includes Eminem (and) Jeff Daniels.”
He dropped the F-bomb on Eminem, Jeff Daniels, and others involved in the documentary, despite them not directly addressing him.
Mitchell was a significant free-agent signing by the Lions in 1994 but didn’t bring playoff success to Detroit. Despite a strong individual performance in 1995, Scott Mitchell is generally seen as a flop.
Scott Mitchell refuted claims that he was the reason Barry Sanders never won a Super Bowl, expressing strong resentment.
Mitchell goes off after Wayne Fontes
Scott Mitchell also talked about his former coach Wayne Fontes. He reiterated his disappointment in the lack of support from Fontes and others.
“I can’t even began to tell you what a disappointment it is to [hear] my own coach, Wayne Fontes, who went out in free agency and actively [pursued] me to the point of begging me to come to Detroit, say that he wanted Joe Montana or Warren Moon, and that the only thing that was missing from the team winning the Super Bowl was a quarterback,” Mitchell wrote.
He emphasized that if he had gotten a little support from his coach Wayne Fontes things would have been different.
“A little support from the coach might have gone a long way. Wayne never had my back!”
Scott Mitchell also pointed out Barry Sanders’ limited rushing yards in specific playoff games, implying that Sanders also contributed to the team’s playoff struggles.
“Everyone loved him. Everything was built for Barry to succeed. In his 10-year career he won one playoff game and the only reason he didn’t win more was everyone else was the problem? How many yards did Barry have in the playoffs in ’94, ’95, ’97? I’ll give you a hint not very many. We all are to blame for not winning a [Super Bowl] in Detroit even Barry Sanders.”
He also highlighted Sanders’ negative rushing yards in a 1994 playoff game against the Green Bay Packers, emphasizing that he was not solely responsible for the team’s struggles.
The former QB expressed a belief that with more time and patience with the offensive talent, the team could have made a deep playoff run and competed for a Super Bowl.
Despite the positive reception of the Sanders documentary, Scott Mitchell made it clear that he found the experience unpleasant and strongly disagreed with the narrative presented in the film. It gave him an opportunity to tell the world his side of the story and clarify how he has been blamed for all the team’s struggles, while there were other factors involved as well.
