Friday, January 16, 2009

Lions Hire Schwartz As Head Coach


The Detroit Lions, who went 0-16 this past regular season, have hired Jim Schwartz as their new head coach. Schwartz was the defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans for several seasons, including this past season, when the Titans went 13-3 and had one of the best defenses in the NFL. Their season ended prematurely when they lost to the Baltimore Ravens at home in the AFC Divisional Round.


The Lions have completed the worst season since the 1976 season, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went 0-14 in their first season. The Lions immediately fired head coach Rod Marinelli. Earlier in the season, they fired team president Matt Millen, who has been responsible for running the Lions into the ground the past eight seasons.


Poor decisions from Millen in free agency and from the draft has led to the Lions owning the worst record in the decade. They have lost 10 or more games numerous times in the decade. However, they started off great last season, starting the season at 6-2. However, they lost seven of their last eight games to finish at 7-9 and miss the playoffs.


The hiring of Schwartz, in my opinion, probably won't make a difference initially for the Lions. I say that for a couple of reasons. One, the Lions have to draft a quarterback with their first pick and I don't think there's a quarterback that's NFL ready in this year's draft. I believe the Lions can get back on track in a couple of years the same way the Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons were able to get back on track so quickly this season.

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