http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/i...wartz_cou.html
Hire that man! Jim Schwartz could save the Lions from themselves
Posted by Patrick Hayes | It's Just Sports January 13, 2009 12:30PM
Categories:
Football
AP Photo
The Lions should hire Jim Schwartz right now.
I was a little less than enthused with Jim Schwartz as a head coaching candidate for the Detroit Lions. After Rod Marinelli was fired, I was hoping for someone, namely New England's Josh McDaniels, with a
pedigree on the offensive side of the ball to get the most out of what, at present, are the Lions' only assets: Calvin Johnson and Kevin Smith.
But
McDaniels ended up in Denver (and who can blame him?), and, after his second interview yesterday, Schwartz was considered a finalist for the Detroit job.
Without looking at his background much, bringing in a defensive coach to a defense that is not competitive wouldn't seem to be the best move, unless he is bringing Albert Haynesworth with him to plug the middle. But upon further review, Schwartz should have been the candidate all along.
First, he is off the
Bill Belicheck coaching tree. So bringing in a disciple of the most successful NFL coach of the last 30 years would be a good start in turning your franchise around, right?
But that is not the best part. I am an avid fan of
Moneyball and the impact statistical analysis has had in combating the
good ol' boys thinking in baseball. One of the main storylines in the book is that baseball teams have, in the past, often been run by former players or "insiders" with no credentials to run a multi-million dollar business, other than the fact that they "played the game," giving them some type of lifetime membership in an exclusive club.
That should sound familiar to Lions fans. This is what our favorite
former Lions team president said when hired in 2001:
"I'm a football player. I'm a football person. That's what I know. Some people say it's shallow, but that's what I'm all about."
It would be nice to have someone in a position of authority with the Lions
who says things like this:
With the Titans, Schwartz once encouraged the former offensive coordinator Norm Chow to run more on third-and-short because his research indicated that it was more effective than passing.
Research? In football? That's crazy talk! Give us more of your voodoo, Mr. Schwartz:
"If you ask me, Would you rather have a great fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants guy on Sunday, a guy who can dial up plays and he'd be the best in league, or a guy who is best in the league from Monday to Saturday preparing, I respect the guy who prepares. You're not always going to be rolling 7, 7, 7 and be hot every week. But if you prepare well during the week, you'll be consistent from week to week."
Effe that. Just draft the dude who runs the fastest 40, sit back and wait for the championships to roll in.
Every Lions fan should
read the Times article on Schwartz (And read
Moneyball too, just for the hell of it. It's awesome). Seriously, having a coach who is that analytical is exactly what this team needs prior to such a critical draft. Hopefully they hire him and hopefully he has Martin Mayhew's ear enough to initiate some positive change.