Jim Schwartz Has Worn Out His Welcome

Nov 24, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz during the second quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

Back in 2009 coming off a 0-16 record I was excited that the Detroit Lions were going to hire a Head Coach who had experienced winning in the NFL.

However,with the exception of 2011 Jim Schwartz has not carried over the winning from the Tennessee Titans.  Even in the ups and owns I have backed Jim Schwartz. Even after he got into the argument with Jim Harbaugh, threw the challenge flag at the Thanksgiving game when he should not have ,and after this years loss Baltimore.  After all 3 incidents when other wanted him fired I backed him, but I am no longer backing him.

Schwartz has continued to make mistakes and this team has continued to play undisciplined and mistake prone football.  Week after week they have shot themselves in the foot and it is always the same explanation after the game, “we have to get better.” Well the fans are sick and tired of waiting for things to change.  At the minimum Schwartz needs to be fired along with his coaches, but in my opinion it should be a complete over haul and Martin Mayhew should go as well.

Martin Mayhew is part of the problem, his decisions have shaped this roster.  The last 2 years because we have had players out of control they have refused to draft talented defensive backs in Janoris Jenkins and Tyrann Mathieu because they had off the field issues in College.  With the injuries in the defensive back field the last two years,those players could really have made a difference.

Instead they drafted Riley Reiff in the first round who they could have taken in the 2nd round and Broyles who has been injured both years in the second.

In 2013 they drafted Larry Warford in the third and Darious Slay in the second but Slay has had a tough time breaking into the lineup despite the injuries.   The coach he hired who is supposed to be a defensive guru has gotten little or nothing out of the defensive line which they keep telling us is one of the best in the NFL.  Three out of six weeks they have played some of the worse offensive lines in football in Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and the New York Giants and have not produced. Son sunday they got just 1 sack against the Giants.  The Defensive Coordinator Gunther Cunningham who is supposed to be a great D- line coach does not blitz that often either because he is scared of exposing his secondary or has too much faith in the D-line.

What all of this spells for me is that Bill Ford Jr. must clean house immediately after the season is over.  This will allow the Lions to get their next Head Coach and General Manager in time for free agency and the draft.  This is what Lions fans deserve after the pathetic collapse this year.