If Fairley isn't careful, he could get the Matt Millen treatment in Detroit. (Getty Images)

Four years ago, the Lions had just put the finishing touches on an 0-16 record. And even though team president Matt Millen was fired in September of that forgettable 2008 season, it will serve as a stark reminder of his tenure in Detroit. Now, however, the Lions are no longer the league laughingstock. In fact, they're a playoff team, perhaps even a perennial one.

And while the sudden change in fortunes have been nice, team vice chairman Bill Ford Jr. isn't willing to overlook off-field transgressions just because the Lions are now successful.

There have been a rash of arrests this offseason with 2011 first-rounder Nick Fairley leading the way. Fairley's been arrested twice, once on marijuana possession charges, and last weekend for DUI and eluding police. Two of his draft classmates, running back Mikel Leshoure and offensive tackle Johnny Culbreath have also been arrested on marijuana-related charges.

“There are some conversations taking place right now,” Ford said Thursday, via the Detroit Free-Press, regarding the off-field incidents. … “It’s disappointing, very disappointing. It’s a shame.”

Ford reiterated his feeling during an appearance on WJR in Detroit.

“Unfortunately it’s just a couple guys who are just tainting our whole image,” he said via PFT.com. “There’s no question, some of our young guys better get their act together because that’s not the way you become a professional. The good news is we’ve got some great veteran leadership on our team that are great guys and can set the tone and I suspect it’s going to be those veterans who are really going to get these guys back in line. ...

“The veteran leadership on this team is about as high-quality as it gets," Ford told the Free-Press, "with Jason Hanson and Matthew Stafford, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Calvin Johnson, Nate Burleson, these are great guys, not just on the field but in the community. That’s the core of leadership we’ve build around -- and the expectation is that they will put their arms around these young guys and say, ‘This is what it takes to be a pro.’ Nate Burleson, he’s been hugely important."

Burleson said in April that he would talk to Fairley and Leshoure about the choice they make away from work. “We've done too much to get to where we're at," he said at the time. "There's been a black cloud hanging over Detroit for so long, so for us to go from 6-10 to 10-6 and feel like we're heading in the right direction and just a few mistakes happen, we've got to tell the young guys to get it together.”

As PFT.com's Michael David Smith notes, Ford spoke publicly about Millen's underwhelming stint as the Lions president, and two days later, Millen was canned. Perhaps that precedent should concern Fairley and is teammates who can't seem to stay out of trouble.

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