As you probably know, the Lions have hired a new coach.  Again, they have tried to find the “diamond in the rough” choosing a coach that has never been a head coach.  At least this time, differring from Rod Marinelli, Coach Schwartz has had experience in game planning and calling plays.  He served as the Tenessee Titans defensive coordinater for the past 8 years.  His defenses have been near the top in most of those years.  He was criticized this year for not blitzing enough – he defended himself by stating that he was able to pressure the quarterback with his talented front four – which included the dominating Albert Haynesworth. 

My take on this is one of carful optimisim.  I listened to Coach Schwartz’s press conference on 971theticket.com last Friday.  He sounded like a head coach and had some very polished things to say about how he plans to re-build our football team.  Unlike the last coach (Rod Marinelli), Schwartz seems like he would be effective in talking with the media.  Last year, I felt like laughing and crying all at the same time when Rod would say “it’s on me” after each waxing the team took.  Rod never seemed to give a straight answer, and I think that alientated him even more from the fans and media.  Schwartz was a smooth and a cool customer.   He seemed to understand what the fans want and desperate need here in Detroit for the Lions.  I think he’s going to be a major upgrade in that area, as that’s a big part of the head coaches job. 

Schwartz seems to be a very bright, intelligent person with a degree in Economics from Georgetown University.  He got his start as a scout for Bill Belichick back in the mid-90’s.  He’s known to be a extremely interested in stats and has studied them avidly, not only in football but other sports and in particular, baseball.  Schwartz also, has been a scout and has some experience evaluating talent.  Lets hope that pays off in April, when the Lions are scheduled to have the first pick on the draft.