As expected, losing both assistant coaches was a huge blow to head coach Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions in 2025. As a result, the offense regressed tremendously, and the defense, albeit still solid, wasn't anything special without Aaron Glenn at the helm.
Those shortcomings led to the Lions parting ways with offensive coordinator John Morton and replacing him with Drew Petzing; however, defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard is still in town. Then again, now that an upgrade like Jim Schwartz might become available, Lions general manager Brad Holmes may want to think things through.
Schwartz reportedly doesn't intend to return to Cleveland. He's still under contract with the Browns for another season, but was reportedly livid after being passed over for the head coaching position in favor of Todd Monken.
Unfortunately, the Lions' potential bid to reunite with their former head coach is facing a new obstacle from the NFC.
49ers Could Throw Wrench Into Potential Jim Schwartz-Lions Reunion
According to NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero, multiple teams, including the San Francisco 49ers, will make a run at the former Lions head coach if he becomes available. That puts Campbell's team in a tough position.
On the one hand, it might be too early to give up on Sheppard, who's been with the organization for a while and may only need a little more time to get it together. On the other hand, they could get an immediate upgrade with a top-notch defensive coordinator who's also familiar with the organization.
If that wasn't bad enough, watching Schwartz take his talents to the Niners would now make a fellow NFC Super Bowl contender even stronger. The conference is pretty stacked as it is, and most teams caught a break when defensive coordinator Robert Saleh left the 49ers. Schwartz potentially heading to the Bay Area would end those celebrations early.
The Lions have one of the best pass rushers in the game in Aidan Hutchinson, and watching what Schwartz has done with Myles Garrett in Cleveland should probably be just enough for the Lions to make a run at him. Garrett just set the NFL's single-season sack record in 2025 (23.0), and it'd be exciting to see what the ex-Detroit HC could do with Hutchinson, who just amassed a career-best 14.5 sacks en route to second-team All-Pro honors for the first time.
It's unusual to fire assistant coaches this late after the season, so it's hard to believe Campbell is going to take that route. Still, if the Lions even have the smallest desire to bring Schwartz to the Motor City, they'd better start preparing their sales pitch because there's a good chance that other teams are already working on theirs.