http://detroitsportreport.com/2009/0...ture-on-merit/
Head Coach choices, a lecture on merit
The Lions’ double-secret search for a head coach that will lose moderately-less effectively than Marinelli (who is now
officially the Bears’ problem) is apparently
down to two gents at this juncture: Tennessee Titans Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz and the recently-available-for-interview New York Giants Defensive Coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo.
Forgiving for a second the implication their pursuit of a job with our beloved Lions in the first place has on their respective intelligence, I think the Detroit football community would agree that either candidate would mark a massive improvement over the defensive-line coach that has been the maidenhead of the Lions for the past three years.
Both Schwartz and Spagnuolo come to their present, I think it’s fair to call it a predicament, from teams with consistently successful defenses, which is what Mayhew and Lewand (Pinkie and the Brain, only which is which?) have stated as their primary criterion. It’s what Schwartz and Spagnuolo have in common defensively, in both philosophy and resume, that make them such appealing choices. Each’s rabid defensive line more than compensated for any other deficiencies, and it would seem logical that each would likely make that their A-1 priority going into this offseason (an offseason which, considering Detroit’s position with the #1 and the #20-something draft choices, plus myriad others in later rounds, must serve as the genesis of an entirely new Detroit Lions, entirely unaffiliated with the last 50 years of ineptitude). This approach works for me because, as both candidates have proved in their current situations, a solid defensive line can neutralize a lot of shortcomings.
The Lions have a lot of shortcomings to neutralize, and therefore people’s expectations need to be reigned in immediately. The Lions are not going to the playoffs in 2010, or even 2011. I saw what happened in Miami, but neither Spagnuolo nor Schwartz is the Tuna’s equal, and the 2008 Lions are infinitely inferior to the 2007 Dolphins (literally). Even if one of them were capable of replicating what Parcells did this year, it still wouldn’t happen because our beloved William Clay Ford effectively hamstrung his would-be savior by giving Pinkie and the Brain veto power over all personnel decisions, an impediment Parcells was not faced with in Miami.
It will take three years at the very least, but after witnessing the Giants’ and Titans’ continuing defensive domination, I am willing to wait that long for either Spagnuolo or Schwartz (heck, what’s another three years anyway?).
All that being said, I’m going to go ahead and root for Schwartz because
he makes me giggle.