Good Luck Jim Schwartz, You're Gonna Need It!

Well now...The Lions hired Jim Schwartz as new head coach.

Smart move? Too early to tell. If the Lions had hired Mike Shanahan or Bill Cowher, just about everyone would have predicted the Lions in the Super Bowl within two years.

I know nothing of Schwartz, just like when Rod Marinelli was hired in. All I heard about Marinelli was that he is a great motivator, players love him, and Jon Gruden told the media the Lions hired the right guy.

What I’m hearing about Jim Schwartz is that he is a great motivator, players love him, and Jeff Fisher is telling the media the Lions have hired the right guy.

Is it me or is there a sense of déjà vu here?

We can point to the success of John Harbaugh, who has the Ravens one victory away from the Super Bowl. We can point to Mike Smith, who got the Atlanta Falcons into the playoffs. But what help did they get from their respective owners? A whole lot!

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti is 48 years old and he owns an NFL franchise. But he didn’t buy the team as an investment. He grew up in a working class family and his father took him to Baltimore Orioles and Colts games. He grew up with a love of the game and winning is the most important thing for his team to do.

Falcon’s owner, Arthur Blank, is 67 years old. He purchased the Falcons in 2002 and was faced with Michael Vick being convicted for dog-fighting and head coach Bobby Petrino bolting to the Arkansas Razorbacks after 13 games in 2007.

But he didn’t panic, he got some good football people around him and hired Mike Smith, drafted Matt Ryan and turned the team around after going 4-12 in 2007 to an 11-5 record and a wild-card appearance. And I don’t think the Falcons are a fluke, they will be a strong presence in 2009 in the NFC South.

What does Schwartz have as an owner? William Clay Ford, Sr., an 84-year-old monolith that is reclusive and elusive when it comes to the subject of the Detroit Lions. Current and former employees have stated he is a competitive person but if that’s the case, where the heck are all the Lombardi Trophies?

Where are the great teams that were built to contend 5-10 years at a time? Where are all the playoff wins? 

Schwartz has more of an uphill climb facing him than he would have had with the Broncos, Browns or Jets. Each of those teams has owners that are dedicated to winning and will hire the right people to make the right moves to get them into contention.

The jury is still out on Martin Mayhew but his first move, trading Roy Williams to the Cowboys for a first, third, and fifth-round picks was pretty damn good, probably one of the best trades that any Lion GM has made in the last 20 years.

I wish Jim Schwartz all the luck in the world. I hope that he is the coach of the Lions for the next 10 years despite having William Clay Ford, Sr. as his boss. I hope that Martin Mayhew, who was hired by Matt Millen, can continue to make shrewd moves such as the Roy Williams trade. 

Good luck Jimbo...You’re gonna need it.