Jay Glazer reports Schwartz tapped by Lions...

[talastan]

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/9...rn-team-around

Sources: Lions pick Schwartz to turn team aroundby Jay Glazer
Jay Glazer is a Senior NFL Writer for FOXSports.com on MSN and also appears every week on FOX NFL Sunday as the network's NFL Insider.

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Updated: January 15, 2009, 3:45 PM EST Comment The Detroit Lions can go nowhere but up in 2009. And now they've found the man to lead their revival.

The Lions will hire Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz to be their new head coach, FOXSports.com has learned. Schwartz interviewed for the second time on Monday, two days after the Titans were eliminated from the AFC playoffs by the Baltimore Ravens.

"I don't shy away from a challenge," Schwartz said Monday at a news conference that was scheduled as part of his day at the team's headquarters.

Schwartz just finished his 10th season with the Titans, his eighth as defensive coordinator. He was promoted from linebackers assistant coach to coordinator in January 2001.

Before being hired in Tennessee, he spent three years on the Baltimore Ravens' staff. He also was a college and pro scout for the Cleveland Browns and that experience might be valuable in Detroit.

The Lions have the No. 1 pick in April along with first- and third-round picks from the Dallas Cowboys and need to find players to spark a turnaround.


"It's probably time to find a replacement for Bobby Layne," Schwartz joked, showing he knows at least a little about the history of perhaps the NFL's worst franchise.

Since winning a title in 1957 with Layne at quarterback, the Lions have the same number of playoff victories as Pro Bowl QBs: one.

Schwartz will be counted on to come up with ways to improve a defense that ranked last in the league and gave up 517 points — threatening the NFL record for points allowed (533) in a season set by the 1981 Baltimore Colts.

"There's no better feeling than turning a situation around," he said.

The 42-year-old Schwartz played linebacker at Georgetown, where he earned a degree in economics.

He started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Maryland in 1989, later had the same position at Minnesota and went on to become a secondary coach for North Carolina Central and linebackers coach at Colgate.

The Baltimore native became a candidate to be a head coach, though, because of what he's done in Tennessee.

The Titans ranked in the top seven in yards allowed each of the past two seasons and finished second in points allowed per game at 14.6 in 2008. His 2003 defense ranked first in the NFL in rushing defense and led the league in third down defense at 27.7 — the lowest since the 1998 Oakland Raiders.

The avid chess player analyzes football-related statistics, looking for tendencies, then has the ability to relay what he has learned to players.

"You've got to have the right kind of guys who know how to translate it off the computer to the field and play," Titans defensive end Jevon Kearse has said. "He pretty much has what it takes if you ask me."

[talastan]

Originally Posted by arc

"Tapped by lions" sounds kind of brutal.

That is exactly the point, any coach taking that job is going to be screwed!

[Goapics1]

Welcome to Hell, Jim.

[Archie Bunker]

I think we dodged a bullet here. Anyone willing to A) Go to Detroit and B) hire Gunther isn't right in the head IMO.

[Hammock Parties]

He's a snappy dresser...

[L.A. Chieffan]

Sanchez shoulda stayed in

[KChiefs1]

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf...art_in_li.html

Chiefs hiring Scott Pioli played part in Lions moving quickly to sign Jim Schwartz

by Tom Kowalski | Analysis Thursday January 15, 2009, 4:25 PM



AP Photo

When the Kansas City Chiefs introduced Scott Pioli as their new general manager, the Detroit Lions locked down Jim Schwartz as their new head coach before the two former Cleveland Browns employees could be reunited.

When the Kansas City Chiefs hired Scott Pioli to run their football operations on Wednesday, the Detroit Lions knew they had to act quickly in reaching a deal to make Jim Schwartz their new head coach. Pioli and Schwartz go back a long way to their days with the Cleveland Browns in the early 1990s.

Many experts believed that Pioli might fire current head coach Herm Edwards and look for a new coach. The Lions removed one of Pioli's options Thursday when they signed Schwartz to a four-year contract.

There were reports that Pioli and Schwartz didn't get along but, according to a league source, the Lions knew differently. The Lions had a second interview with Schwartz on Monday and also had a second interview with Todd Bowles on Tuesday -- the day the story broke of Pioli going to Kansas City.



The Lions already had an interview set up on Wednesday with Ron Rivera in Houston and took part in that. There were expected to be second interviews with Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier and Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, but those never materialized because the Lions made the decision to go after Schwartz.

Schwartz, 42, has been the defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans for the last eight years, and brings a blend of both youth and experience to the Detroit job.


http://blog.mlive.com/highlightreel/..._schwartz.html

Getting to know The Schwartz

Posted by Philip Zaroo | MLive.com January 15, 2009 16:12PM

There are a couple of things you need to know about new Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz.

First, as he told Bill Belichick when they first met in the Cleveland Browns organization, fumbles aren't worth focusing on.

New York Times, November 22, 2008: "Fumbles are a random occurrence," Schwartz said he told Belichick. "Being able to get interceptions or not throw interceptions has a high correlation with good teams. But over the course of a year, good teams don't fumble any more or less than bad teams. Bill didn't agree. He said, 'No, good teams don't fumble the ball.' But actually, they fumble just as often as bad teams."

Second, the NFL's defensive rankings mean little to him. After all, they're based on who's allowing the least yardage.

"Who cares who is leading in yardage?" Schwartz said, pointing out that allowing a 12-yard run raises the total but is meaningless on a third-and-20 play.

Third, Schwartz is known as the Billy Beane of football. That's because he approaches the game analytically. He pours over stats and keeps his players on their toes. Just ask the Titans defensive linemen.

Kyle Vanden Bosch said: "Especially from a defensive lineman standpoint, we don't usually pay attention to formations and down and distance. He has that broken down for us. We know what to expect out of certain formations, and what plays they can run. It's unusual for a defensive line. But we have a quiz in front of the whole defense on Friday, and he expects everybody to know that."

But just because he's an unabashed stats and numbers guy, don't think that's all he's about. Schwartz knows there's more to coaching than moving chess pieces (which, by the way, he loves to do in his time off from football).

"Sometimes, that's an easy thing for people in the media to use against you," Schwartz said. " 'Oh, yeah, he can't adjust; he's just a stats guy. They don't really understand the game.' That's why sometimes, the whole stats thing is a dirty word. "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."

[talastan]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf...art_in_li.html

Chiefs hiring Scott Pioli played part in Lions moving quickly to sign Jim Schwartz

Isn't it nice to have a GM that other teams fear and respect!! Wow what a feeling