Lions Schedule Another Interview with Jim Schwartz

by Sean Yuille on Jan 12, 2009 1:54 AM EST in News Comment 8 comments

With the Titans losing to the Ravens on Saturday, Tennessee defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz can now accept job offers from other teams. This is important because it means the Lions' search for a head coach could be coming to an end sometime this week.

The Lions interviewed Schwartz on January 3, and they plan on having a second meeting with him today. The difference this time is that Schwartz will meet with Lions owner William Clay Ford, who was not at the first interview. Whether or not this means that an official offer is on its way is unknown, but it does mean that Schwartz is one of the top candidates for the job.

Speculation does seem to suggest that an offer could be extended at today's meeting if things go well. According to Pro Football Talk, the Titans are already starting to plan for a future without Schwartz, as they believe he is leaving. Also, John Niyo of the Detroit News mentioned an interesting connection between Schwartz and Phil Savage and James Harris, who were both reportedly contacted about joining the Lions front office. Schwartz has worked with both Savage (Cleveland) and Harris (Baltimore) before, so maybe this is a sign of a reunion in Detroit.

My feeling is that if something is going to happen with Schwartz, it will happen during that meeting with William Clay Ford today. Obviously if Schwartz leaves Detroit and the Lions still don't have a head coach, that doesn't mean he won't be hired at a later date. With the Giants now out of the playoffs, the Lions are reportedly interested in bringing in Steve Spagnuolo for a second interview as well. That could extend the process a few days, as the Lions may want to meet with both Schwartz and Spagnuolo one more time each before making a decision on who should be offered the job.

As it stands right now, it appears that Schwartz and Spagnuolo are the top two candidates. I am happy with that, as the Lions need to get better defensively. What better way of doing that than hiring one of the league's top defensive coordinators? As they say, defense wins championships. Just look at three out of the four teams left in the playoffs. Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh all have outstanding defenses, and at least one of those three teams will be in the Super Bowl. If the Eagles beat Arizona, then a truly defensive Super Bowl would be set up.

Anyways, stay tuned to Pride of Detroit for the latest news regarding the Lions' coaching search as it breaks. One way or another, we should get a better idea of what is going to happen with the Lions' search for a head coach today, and we may even have a new head coach if things go really well with Schwartz.

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The Lions are bringing in Ron Rivera on Tuesday

According to Adam Schefter, the Lions are bringing in Ron Rivera on Tuesday for an interview. I like the way the coaching search has gone so far. Schwartz is my first choice but I’d take Rivera or Spags as well.

I has a blog.

"A child of five would understand this. Send someone to fetch a child of five." ~Groucho Marx

by Jettero2112 on Jan 12, 2009 7:41 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Schwartz criticism

I’m pretty happy with the focus on D coordinators, but I heard a few comments that I’d like to hear some other opinions on. The comments were how Schwartz’s defensive scheme does not include many blitzes, usually letting the front four get to the QB and trusting his CBs to lockdown. I really don’t know much about the Titan’s D, other than they pretty much shutdown their opponents, but is that more because of talent or scheme. It only makes me nervous because the D-line isn’t exactly a dominating force at getting to the QB and I’ve lost all trust in our CBs.

So with the state of our defense, where does that leave us with Schwartz? Does he change the scheme to adjust to what we have or are we gonna rely on him to be able to evaluate talent that will fit his system? It’d be great to have Haynesworth come with him to start plugging holes in our D, but is the chance of that happening even close?

Its been bugging me since I heard it, so I’d appreciate any thoughts.

by cridg1zt on Jan 12, 2009 8:43 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

rebuilding...

You can’t place the current roster into the schemes Schwartz may implement, because we will be picking up a lot of new talent from the draft and free agency, and hopefully trades as well. Mayhem has already made it clear that their is nothing on the defense that he is impressed by for the most part, so I see a pretty much 80% new starting roster and whoever cannot be cut or traded will be demoted to 2nd and 3rd string.

Essentially it’s a pretty smart idea, put four guys up front that are capable of reaching the qb everytime and you have everyone dropped back into pass coverages which means no missed coverage due to a blitz that didn’t reach the qb in time, and also if a rb breaks some tackles we don’t have 8 guys on the line with only a cb and a safety to catch them.

And don’t get too scared because Schwartz does use blitzing, he just doesn’t rely on it as heavily as many other defenses do. And he’ll hire a defensive cordinator, so that’s when you’ll see what kind of schemes we may or may not run.

by lions_sucker on Jan 12, 2009 10:35 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

fair enough.

i agree its a great idea to rush only four, but thats more of a luxury than anything. you need to have players solid enough to make that happen. hopefully he’ll be an effective talent scout during the draft and we pick up some quality defensive players.

by cridg1zt on Jan 12, 2009 12:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i liked this article from espn

his time as a scout with the browns has to make you optomistic…

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3828176

by cridg1zt on Jan 12, 2009 3:20 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

The definitive Schwartz piece . . .

. . . is probably the one the Times did on him earlier this year:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/sports/football/23titans.html?pagewanted=print

I think Schwartz is an excellent fit. To be frank, even if we hire a Tampa Two disciple as a head coach, and he hires a Tampa Two disciple as his DC, we still don’t have the talent to fit the system. The best defensive players we have (Avril, Sims, Bullocks) will be assets in any system—and besides them, the cupboard is so bare that trying to fit the system to the ‘talent’ is pure madness.

The Lions have to hire the best coach, period.

http://thelionsinwinter.blogspot.com

by ty@thelionsinwinter on Jan 12, 2009 4:51 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

theres another article in the times

about Mike Leach and how Schwartz wanted to hire him as offensive coordinator

"Sometimes Joe (morgan) doesn't like facts to get in the way of his opinions."- billy beane
"That was a great pick...if this was 2002" Me, to guy who selected Barry Zito in a fantasy draft

by harendaman365 on Jan 12, 2009 10:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Defense first

I actually heard the announcers saying the same thing about Schwartz during the Ravens game and I had the same concerns as you. Personally, I’d prefer Spagnuolo by a hair but that’s more a personal preference for a more aggressive, blitzing background but Schwartz has been the defensive coordinator for top ten defenses for 8 seasons. The Titans aren’t good by accident. He knows what he’s doing. Add to that the fact that he’s been learning from one of the best head coaches in the NFL for 10 years and I think the Lions would do well to hire him.

Any opinions on Ron Rivera? I think I’d have him as my 3rd choice behind Spags and Schwartz.

by wumanchu01 on Jan 12, 2009 7:12 PM EST reply actions 0 recs