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Lions notes: More on Jim Schwartz's firing

Lions notes looks at various tidbits related to the firing of head coach Jim Schwartz.

Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sport
  • Shortly after Jim Schwartz was fired on Monday, a few tweets helped make it clear why a change was needed.
  • Reports of tension between Schwartz and Detroit Lions general manager Martin Mayhew continued after Monday's firing. Mayhew, for what it's worth, strongly denied a report that suggested he was barely even speaking to Schwartz by the end of the season, and he also strongly denied a report that suggested he wanted to fire Schwartz after last season.

  • For those wondering, the Lions officially announced Schwartz's firing at 12:14 p.m. ET on Monday, according to Tom Leyden.

  • Why did the Lions decide to fire Jim Schwartz? Lions president Tom Lewand explained the decision:
  • Mayhew admitted during his Monday press conference that the front office could have done a better job in certain areas from a personnel standpoint, especially with surrounding Matthew Stafford with talent. However, Mayhew felt the Lions were already getting to a point where there was enough talent in place for them to start contending.

  • Stafford thinks offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, who was let go as well on Monday, will be a "hot commodity" in coaching circles.

  • Yahoo! Sports' Dan Wetzel put together a column on why the Lions have the best head coach opening the NFL, and several analysts on NFL.com echoed his thoughts.

  • Jason La Canfora believes Schwartz will "get consideration" for the Cleveland Browns' head coaching job.

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