Following the NFL's first 0-16 season, our Lions did what any team would have done- fired their head coach (generally most teams would fire the GM as well, but the Lions have already done that).
About a week ago, they hired Tennessee defensive coordinater Jim Shwartz as head coach. The optimism about Shwartz comes primarily from one name: Bill Belicheck. Shortly after his arrival, Shwartz frequently reminded everyone that he learned from the Hooded Master. No coach currently in the NFL is respected more than Belicheck, who led the New England Patroits to three Super Bowl Championships in four years, and later made them the only 18-0 team in NFL history.
So, can Shwartz show some of Belicheck in him when he coaches the Lions next season? It's hard to tell right now because assitant coaches tend to be unpredictable when bumped up to the head spot.
So far, Shwartz has done a better job at hiring assitants than the Lions generally do. Rod Marinelli made O-line coach Jim Colleto the head offensive coordinator and his son-in-law Joe Barry as his defensive coordinator. Shwartz went out and hired offensive coordinator Scott Linehan for the same job. Linehan has had a lot of success, although he struggled recently with the St. Louis Rams. Linehan is not neccessarily the best man for the job, but at least he is qualified for the position. Next, Shwartz hired Gunther Cunningham as his defensive coordinator. Like Linehan, Cunningham was already at the same position before he was hired.
So now that the coaching's taken care of, what about the players? Getting successful players comes down to having a good GM and some luck. Quick pop quiz: What does Lions GM Martin Mayhew have in common with head coach Jim Shwartz? Answer: Both are unpredictable. Don't tell me that the Lions decision to keep Mayhew will lead to more terrible seasons, because what if Mayhew left, went somewhere else, and became executive of the year? Then the Lions would curse themselves. How could we let them go like that? They were right in front of our faces! And don't tell me that Mayhew is about to lead them to a Super Bowl dynasty, either because it's virtually impossible to tell what he will do beforehand.
So the question is: What should Mayhew (not to mention president Tom Lewand) do? In the draft, his best move would be selecting tackle Andre Smith first overall. Why? Because offensive lineman taken in the first round are generally safer bets than quarterbacks taken at that time. Look at Brady: 199th overall and he won 3 Super Bowls, set a record for TD passes in a season, and was the leader of the only 18-0 team ever. Look at Favre: taken late in round one only to become arguably the greatest quarterback of alltime. And it works the negative way, too. Look at busts like Ryan Leaf, Akili Smith, Vince Young, Heath Shuler, JaMarcus Russell, I could go on forever.
With the first pick taken care of, what should the Lions do next? It's pretty straightforward from there: find someone to draw double teams away from Calvin Johnson and spend the rest of the draft rebuilding the defense. Quarterback would best if taken in another way. The Lions have three options: 1. Sign a free agent Few options are here. The Lions only chance may be in an old reliable such as Kurt Warner, Jeff Garcia, or Kerry Collins. While Warner and Garcia are pondering retirement, there is a chance that Collins may be interested in coming here because of Jim Shwartz. Right now I'd say the chances are about 40-60, in favor of Collins returning to Tennessee. 2. Look for someone to trade with This probably isn't the right way to go. The Lions can't afford to give up any of their few good players. The only real chance here is if a QB decides he wants out, making the team willing to accept almost any offer. It's not likely though. 3. Build from within Silly as it sounds, the Lions may already have someone qualified for the job. Drew Stanton has yet to have his chance and who knows? He could be a hidden gem. Maybe someone else is. But overall there isn't a good chance of this happening.
The problem is that there really is no right answer when it comes to picking the new quarterback. The Lions might as well line up the candidates and ask which of them stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
Feedback: If you have a comment on the Lions' future, post it.
1 comment:
schartz is awesome
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