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Lions hire Jim Schwartz as HC! (1 Viewer)

I can honestly say I know nothing about this guy.

Titans homers (or really anyone who just knows more than me), would you care to give a little info?

 
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LionsFan78 said:
I can honestly say I know nothing about this guy.Titans homers (or really anyone who just knows more than me), would you care to give a little info?
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This is from a NYT article earlier this year and gets me very excited:Schwartz, now the defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans, had an economics degree from Georgetown University, an abiding fascination with statistics and a preference for watching game film over television. That made him a kindred spirit with his first N.F.L. boss, Bill Belichick. But when Schwartz told Belichick his findings from an early N.F.L. research project almost 15 years ago, Belichick said he did not believe him.“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.”-----With the Titans, Schwartz once encouraged the former offensive coordinator Norm Chow to run more on third-and-short because his research indicated that it was more effective than passing.-----Schwartz has met with the developers of a computer program to analyze difficult play-calling decisions, and he has watched film with Aaron Schatz, an author of “Pro Football Prospectus,” who uses unusual statistics to analyze the game. But at the same time, Schwartz shuns the impression that creates, stressing that statistics are just another tool in game preparation.
 
He's a local Baltimore guy and has appeared regularly on the locally-owned sports radio station -- I think he might be friends from the old days with the station's co-owner/host. I always appreciated him coming on the air and talking to Baltimore fans even while he was D Coordinator for what was then our biggest rival.

He is very smart and funny; I think he is very smart about using staticstical analytics, but he is at heart still very much a football coach and not prone to letting numbers dictate his approach. He will give the Lions' D some instant credibility -- they have some good pieces in place on offense, but nothing can disguise their gaping hole at QB.

 
Here's a cool article about him:

Titans’ Against-the-Grain Defense

November 23, 2008

By JUDY BATTISTA

NASHVILLE — It was not long after Jim Schwartz began an unpaid internship with the old Cleveland Browns, driving scouts and players to the airport, and buying cigarettes for the coaches, that he bumped up against football’s poured-in-concrete conventional wisdom.

Schwartz, now the defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans, had an economics degree from Georgetown University, an abiding fascination with statistics and a preference for watching game film over television. That made him a kindred spirit with his first N.F.L. boss, Bill Belichick. But when Schwartz told Belichick his findings from an early N.F.L. research project almost 15 years ago, Belichick said he did not believe him.

“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.”

With the Titans, Schwartz once encouraged the former offensive coordinator Norm Chow to run more on third-and-short because his research indicated that it was more effective than passing.

Unorthodox thinking like that has earned Schwartz, 42, a reputation as one of the N.F.L.’s leading practitioners of statistical analysis — “Moneyball” for the shoulder-pad set — using them in coaching the defense for the league’s only unbeaten team.

In Schwartz’s eighth season as the coordinator, the Titans’ defense is ranked sixth entering Sunday’s game here against the Jets (7-3). The ranking is based on yards surrendered.

“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.

No statistic matters more to coaches than fewest points allowed, and by that measure, no team comes close to the Titans (10-0). They are giving up 13.1 points a game, 1.4 points fewer than the second-ranked Pittsburgh Steelers. But Schwartz, perhaps more aware than most of how numbers can be manipulated, did not embrace that figure without explanation.

The Titans gave up their most points of the season, 21, to Indianapolis. But the Colts scored 7 points with little time remaining, when the Titans were leading by 17. Against Kansas City, the Titans allowed 10 late points after the starters were pulled in a 34-10 victory. So the Titans average fewer than 13.1 meaningful points allowed.

With an offense that relies on the run, not downfield passing, the Titans are built to win close (read playoff) games. That leaves the defense with little margin for error.

The Titans are defined by multitalented players who are effective in different styles. The Titans used eight-man fronts to stop Jacksonville’s running game in the season opener, then played a cover-2 defense to thwart Cincinnati’s passing the next week.

With a line featuring Albert Haynesworth, perhaps the league’s best defensive player, the Titans generate pressure on quarterbacks with minimal blitzing. (An addendum to Schwartz’s fumble analysis: good teams sack the quarterback, and forcing a quarterback to fumble is a lot easier than taking the ball from a running back or a wide receiver.)

Players credit the defensive coaches for their ability to correct mistakes quickly — the Chicago Bears converted three consecutive third-down attempts on their opening drive against the Titans, but none the rest of the game — and for the detailed preparation that dovetails with what linebacker Keith Bulluck called Schwartz’s “little hobbies.”

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.”

Belichick regards Schwartz as one of the smartest coaches he has been around, and in recent years, Schwartz has become a candidate for several head coaching jobs. He is almost certain to be a front-runner as positions open this year.

But being known as a “stats guy” is not necessarily a compliment, because statistics do not hold the romantic place in football that they do in baseball. Although every coach uses plenty of data — the Titans’ Jeff Fisher tracks how long his team takes to break the huddle — football is unlikely to bestow statistics-driven celebrity on anyone the way the baseball book “Moneyball” did on Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics.

Schwartz has met with the developers of a computer program to analyze difficult play-calling decisions, and he has watched film with Aaron Schatz, an author of “Pro Football Prospectus,” who uses unusual statistics to analyze the game. But at the same time, Schwartz shuns the impression that creates, stressing that statistics are just another tool in game preparation.

“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.”

Numbers have long threaded through Schwartz’s thinking. His father was a police officer, and when they watch television together and see a news report about a murder, his father will mention what percentage of women are murdered by their husbands. When Schwartz was growing up in Baltimore, the Dallas Cowboys were the best team in football. They used a computer analysis of prospects as part of their forward-thinking draft preparation.

“They used that not to press a button and have the computer say, ‘This is your draft pick,’ ” Schwartz said. “It was more to guide them — these are important traits to look for. That’s the way we use it.”

The 16-game season provides a small sample, a shortcoming of football statistics. So Schwartz breaks down each drive as if it were its own game. Twelve drives, say, multiplied by 16 games is a much bigger sample.

Yet Schwartz rejects one Beane quirk revealed in “Moneyball” — that he does not like to watch games because he cannot stand how random events may influence the outcome. Schwartz, a former college linebacker, calls the defensive signals from the sideline rather than the press box, so he can look at his players and gauge their physical feedback. The Titans’ attacking style — what Vanden Bosch called “forcing the issue” — seems to run counter to the by-the-numbers image that makes Schwartz uncomfortable.

“This guy is a football coach who motivates players,” Schatz said, “and he also happens to have a very open mind and interest in statistics. But he’s not like me on the sidelines.”

Still, with Tennessee on the way to the playoffs, the Titans’ pounding defense — and the mind that directs it — figure to get plenty of attention. Schwartz cringes when he thinks others perceive him as a numbers geek, an odd concern for an avid amateur chess player who uses Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov analogies.

“People talk about the chess match between coaches and coordinators,” Schwartz said. “Anybody who plays chess knows your rook never falls down, your rook never stops one spot short. There’s human nature to football that will never make it into a game of numbers.”
Click to expand...
 
I am now officially a Lions fan.

I played with Schwartzy in college. He was a senior (and team captain) when I was a freshman.

What I remember about him: he was smart, he was a great motivator, and he was tough as hell (playing through pain as well as anyone I've known).

 
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Maurile Tremblay said:
I am now officially a Lions fan.

I played with Schwartzy in college. He was a senior (and team captain) when I was a freshman.

What I remember about him: he was smart, he was a great motivator, and he was tough as hell (playing through pain as well as anyone I've ever known).
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Not even Georgetown guys were capable of coming up with better sports nicknames than just adding "-y" to the end of someone's last name?
 
The NFC North now becomes the most parity filled division in football.

We may not see a 10 win division champion for quite a few years here.

ETA - Unless we get both the NFC West and AFC West on the schedules in the same year :thumbup:

 
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The_Man said:
Maurile Tremblay said:
I am now officially a Lions fan.

I played with Schwartzy in college. He was a senior (and team captain) when I was a freshman.

What I remember about him: he was smart, he was a great motivator, and he was tough as hell (playing through pain as well as anyone I've ever known).
Click to expand...
Not even Georgetown guys were capable of coming up with better sports nicknames than just adding "-y" to the end of someone's last name?
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My nicnkame, FWIW: Maurilli Vanilli.
 
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:blackdot: a Maurilli Vanilli

I have two season tickets so wehn you come to Detroit...I can host!

I really like the hiring. It's not similar to any coaching hiring Detroit has done in recent memory. An accomplished coordinator with an emphasis on defense and scouting. The two biggest needs the Lions have right now.

I will happily renew my season tickets. Now if we can avoid the Matt Sanchez hype machine and avoid taking him first overall.

 
Maurile Tremblay said:
The_Man said:
Maurile Tremblay said:
I am now officially a Lions fan.

I played with Schwartzy in college. He was a senior (and team captain) when I was a freshman.

What I remember about him: he was smart, he was a great motivator, and he was tough as hell (playing through pain as well as anyone I've ever known).
Click to expand...
Not even Georgetown guys were capable of coming up with better sports nicknames than just adding "-y" to the end of someone's last name?
Click to expand...
My nicnkame, FWIW: Maurilli Vanilli.
Click to expand...
New sig. Thanks.
 
I heard all the glowing reviews when Marinelli was hired.

It's the Lions- so I'll wait awhile before I declare this a good move or not.

 
Maurile Tremblay said:
The_Man said:
Maurile Tremblay said:
I am now officially a Lions fan.

I played with Schwartzy in college. He was a senior (and team captain) when I was a freshman.

What I remember about him: he was smart, he was a great motivator, and he was tough as hell (playing through pain as well as anyone I've ever known).
Click to expand...
Not even Georgetown guys were capable of coming up with better sports nicknames than just adding "-y" to the end of someone's last name?
Click to expand...
My nicnkame, FWIW: Maurilli Vanilli.
Click to expand...
No, no, no. The "-y" sports nickname protocol doesn't apply to guys whose names end in a vowel sound. Instead, the vowel sound gets chopped off the end and replaced by "-er." Except in the case of a name like yours, where that would produce a nickname of "Trembler." In instances like that, it is acceptable to use "-s" in the place of "-er" so that your official sports team nickname should be: "Trembs."
 
If he's so smart what the hell is he doing taking a job as the head coach of the Detroit Lions? They must have paid him a boatload of money. He's probably one of the highest paid coaches in the league. That's the only way I could see him taking this disaster of a job if he's as smart as people make him out to be.

 
The Man with the Plan said:
If he's so smart what the hell is he doing taking a job as the head coach of the Detroit Lions? They must have paid him a boatload of money. He's probably one of the highest paid coaches in the league. That's the only way I could see him taking this disaster of a job if he's as smart as people make him out to be.
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Isn't the accepted wisdom amongst NFL circles that the Detroit job is actually considered pretty desirable because it has higher than average job security for an NFL coach? I think Mike Lombardi made mention of that a few weeks ago on a Simmons podcast.
 
I am now a Lions fan too. Excited to see "Moneyball" brought to the NFL. It will probably flop, but it will be fun to watch. Will be interesting to see if any Football Outsiders get hired into the front office.

 
Da Guru said:
BassNBrew said:
And the suckage continues.
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Why? Out of all the guys available I really like Schwartz.They guy is supposed to be brilliant.
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:help:He's been among the top assistants named as a candidate for the head coaching job for two years now. This looks like a good hire. The issue right now really becomes whether Mayhew is up to the GM job. That to me is a bigger question mark, though Schwartz obviously now needs to prove himself too.
 
Ted Lange as your Bartender said:
The Man with the Plan said:
If he's so smart what the hell is he doing taking a job as the head coach of the Detroit Lions? They must have paid him a boatload of money. He's probably one of the highest paid coaches in the league. That's the only way I could see him taking this disaster of a job if he's as smart as people make him out to be.
Click to expand...
Isn't the accepted wisdom amongst NFL circles that the Detroit job is actually considered pretty desirable because it has higher than average job security for an NFL coach? I think Mike Lombardi made mention of that a few weeks ago on a Simmons podcast.
Click to expand...
It is. For simple folk it's easier to bash the Lions than look at facts.
 
Ted Lange as your Bartender said:
The Man with the Plan said:
If he's so smart what the hell is he doing taking a job as the head coach of the Detroit Lions? They must have paid him a boatload of money. He's probably one of the highest paid coaches in the league. That's the only way I could see him taking this disaster of a job if he's as smart as people make him out to be.
Click to expand...
Isn't the accepted wisdom amongst NFL circles that the Detroit job is actually considered pretty desirable because it has higher than average job security for an NFL coach? I think Mike Lombardi made mention of that a few weeks ago on a Simmons podcast.
Click to expand...
Maybe in the past but that hasn't been the case recently. Just this decade they've had 6 different head coaches.Ross- 1997-1st half 2000Moeller - 2nd half 2000Morningwheg - 2001-2002Mariucci - 2003- Dec. 2005Jauron - Dec 2005Marinelli- 2006-2008Schwartz - ????Marinelli lasted the longest in the 2000's but that was only 3 seasons. Who knows what lies ahead for Schwartz but if he maintains the level of futility that the previous coaches have established he probably won't be finishing out that 4-year contract.
 
The Man with the Plan said:
Ted Lange as your Bartender said:
The Man with the Plan said:
If he's so smart what the hell is he doing taking a job as the head coach of the Detroit Lions? They must have paid him a boatload of money. He's probably one of the highest paid coaches in the league. That's the only way I could see him taking this disaster of a job if he's as smart as people make him out to be.
Click to expand...
Isn't the accepted wisdom amongst NFL circles that the Detroit job is actually considered pretty desirable because it has higher than average job security for an NFL coach? I think Mike Lombardi made mention of that a few weeks ago on a Simmons podcast.
Click to expand...
Maybe in the past but that hasn't been the case recently. Just this decade they've had 6 different head coaches.Ross- 1997-1st half 2000Moeller - 2nd half 2000Morningwheg - 2001-2002Mariucci - 2003- Dec. 2005Jauron - Dec 2005Marinelli- 2006-2008Schwartz - ????Marinelli lasted the longest in the 2000's but that was only 3 seasons. Who knows what lies ahead for Schwartz but if he maintains the level of futility that the previous coaches have established he probably won't be finishing out that 4-year contract.
Click to expand...
I never count temporary coaches (replacements for fired head coaches who finish out the season) in these discussions.
 
The Man with the Plan said:
Ted Lange as your Bartender said:
The Man with the Plan said:
If he's so smart what the hell is he doing taking a job as the head coach of the Detroit Lions? They must have paid him a boatload of money. He's probably one of the highest paid coaches in the league. That's the only way I could see him taking this disaster of a job if he's as smart as people make him out to be.
Click to expand...
Isn't the accepted wisdom amongst NFL circles that the Detroit job is actually considered pretty desirable because it has higher than average job security for an NFL coach? I think Mike Lombardi made mention of that a few weeks ago on a Simmons podcast.
Click to expand...
Maybe in the past but that hasn't been the case recently. Just this decade they've had 6 different head coaches.Ross- 1997-1st half 2000

Moeller - 2nd half 2000

Morningwheg - 2001-2002

Mariucci - 2003- Dec. 2005

Jauron - Dec 2005

Marinelli- 2006-2008

Schwartz - ????

Marinelli lasted the longest in the 2000's but that was only 3 seasons. Who knows what lies ahead for Schwartz but if he maintains the level of futility that the previous coaches have established he probably won't be finishing out that 4-year contract.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't be using Marty "I'll take the Wind" Morningwheg as a measuring stick for job security. And Marinelli went 0-16 and there was talk during the season of him being retained!Besides, Schwartz should be given a pretty long leash given how miserably far this team has fallen. It literally can't get any worse.

 
With the Titans, Schwartz once encouraged the former offensive coordinator Norm Chow to run more on third-and-short because his research indicated that it was more effective than passing.Unorthodox thinking like that has earned Schwartz, 42, a reputation as one of the N.F.L.’s leading practitioners of statistical analysis —
Click to expand...
How is that unorthodox thinking?
 
Ted Lange as your Bartender said:
The Man with the Plan said:
Ted Lange as your Bartender said:
The Man with the Plan said:
If he's so smart what the hell is he doing taking a job as the head coach of the Detroit Lions? They must have paid him a boatload of money. He's probably one of the highest paid coaches in the league. That's the only way I could see him taking this disaster of a job if he's as smart as people make him out to be.
Click to expand...
Isn't the accepted wisdom amongst NFL circles that the Detroit job is actually considered pretty desirable because it has higher than average job security for an NFL coach? I think Mike Lombardi made mention of that a few weeks ago on a Simmons podcast.
Click to expand...
Maybe in the past but that hasn't been the case recently. Just this decade they've had 6 different head coaches.Ross- 1997-1st half 2000

Moeller - 2nd half 2000

Morningwheg - 2001-2002

Mariucci - 2003- Dec. 2005

Jauron - Dec 2005

Marinelli- 2006-2008

Schwartz - ????

Marinelli lasted the longest in the 2000's but that was only 3 seasons. Who knows what lies ahead for Schwartz but if he maintains the level of futility that the previous coaches have established he probably won't be finishing out that 4-year contract.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't be using Marty "I'll take the Wind" Morningwheg as a measuring stick for job security. And Marinelli went 0-16 and there was talk during the season of him being retained!Besides, Schwartz should be given a pretty long leash given how miserably far this team has fallen. It literally can't get any worse.
Click to expand...
Someone once told me in my business: "The key to having a great year this year, is to have had a bad year last year."It's true. So Schwartz already has that part down.

 
fatness said:
With the Titans, Schwartz once encouraged the former offensive coordinator Norm Chow to run more on third-and-short because his research indicated that it was more effective than passing.Unorthodox thinking like that has earned Schwartz, 42, a reputation as one of the N.F.L.’s leading practitioners of statistical analysis —
Click to expand...
How is that unorthodox thinking?
Click to expand...
A lot of teams will go shotgun on third and three, or even third and two.From 2002-2008, NFL teams as a whole passed 75% of the time on 3rd and 3. They ran just 25% of the time.Passing on 3rd and 3 generated a first down 53% of the time. Running on 3rd and 3 generated a first down 57% of the time.So even though running was successful more often than passing, teams passed the huge majority of the time.(Hat tip: Data Dominator.)
 
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Maurile Tremblay said:
A lot of teams will go shotgun on third and three, or even third and two.From 2002-2008, NFL teams as a whole passed 75% of the time on 3rd and 3. They ran just 25% of the time.Passing on 3rd and 3 generated a first down 53% of the time. Running on 3rd and 3 generated a first down 57% of the time.So even though running was successful more often than passing, teams passed the huge majority of the time.(Hat tip: Data Dominator.)
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:cry:Good read.
 
I like the choice, hope they didn't take too long and are still able to get some good coordinators.

Read an article online (think it was in Detroit News) which made me wonder why a first-time head coach would want that job. Here's a sad testament to how bad William Clay Ford is at picking head coaches:

In his 45 years as the owner, the Lions have had 13 non-interim head coaches. After coaching the Lions, NONE of them have been a head coach in the NFL again!

I hope that Schwartz is the man to break that chain, because it will mean he was successful.

 
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