Schwartz now a Lion king
He has plan to make team roaring success
The head coach overseeing one of the biggest rebuilding jobs in NFL history knows what it's like to work his way up from the bottom.
Jim Schwartz had a degree from Georgetown, but he wasn't too proud to accept a low-level job on Bill Belichick's Cleveland Browns staff in 1993. If Belichick had posted an advertisement for the position that Schwartz accepted, it would have read something like this:
"Job has no official title. Pay: $0. Work in the scouting department. Good driving and navigational skills required to pick players up at the airport, and also take them to the Cleveland Clinic for physical exams. Good filer of paper. Must be able to gather football videotape of college players. Long hours required."
Schwartz is now in his first year as Detroit Lions head coach - the man tapped to turn around the fortunes of the franchise that produced the first 0-16 regular-season record in NFL history - and last week he took a journey back in time to those days on Belichick's staff.
He called it the first step in earning a "PhD in Footballology."
"I wasn't making any money, and it wasn't a great job from a duty standpoint, but what it allowed me to do was have all access to the coaching staff, to the scouting staff, to the team - and to learn from really good people in the NFL," Schwartz said.
Schwartz got his foot in the door through networking, good timing, and a willingness to sacrifice.
First, he met Belichick's father, Steve, at a college coaching convention. Belichick was at the convention as well, because the Browns staff was coaching the Senior Bowl that year, and Schwartz met him as well.
Schwartz must have made a good impression because about 4-5 months later, his phone rang and Belichick was on the line.
Belichick was wondering if Schwartz was still looking for work after being let go with the rest of the Colgate football staff. Belichick must have seen a little bit of himself in Schwartz - a young, bright coach looking to break into the NFL the way he did, with no-frills work for no pay.
"I think he's always had an affinity for people who are willing to do that, who want to make it their career, who are willing to work cheap, around the clock, and have that type of devotion," said Schwartz, who later went on to a 10-year stint as a Tennessee Titans assistant, the last eight of which were spent as defensive coordinator. "I think he also likes to train his own guys - get them young and mold them in his way."
Among the things Schwartz experienced from being around Belichick and later Titans coach Jeff Fisher was what it takes to be successful.
"What you quickly find out is that the NFL, the job in general, requires a lot of hours," Schwartz said. "It's a job for grinders, and unless you love the game and love coming to work, you're never going to be successful."
It is with that background that the energetic 42-year-old Schwartz is ready to tackle his latest challenge. One of the first things that Schwartz wants to instill is that the Lions - even with luxurious Ford Field as their home - won't be a stereotypical dome team.
"We don't plan on being 'The Greatest Show on Turf'; we're going to build it like an outdoor team," Schwartz said. "We're going to be a big, physical team that can run the ball and stop the run.
"We need to be built to have to go up to Lambeau Field in late December and win a game. We have to be built to go into Soldier Field and win a game in December or January that could mean the division. The best way to do that - when the weather gets bad and the wind gets blowing - you have to be able to run the ball and stop the run.
"The one lesson I learned from Bill Belichick and Jeff Fisher is that if you can run the football and stop the run - if you're strong up front on the offensive line and the defensive line - you'll be consistent from week to week."
The Lions have some pieces to work with offensively in that regard - they drafted Boston College offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus in the first round last year and also have the solid Jeff Backus at tackle - but the cupboard is relatively bare on defense.
Former coach Rod Marinelli ran a Tampa-2 scheme, which generally features lighter players, so Schwartz and defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham appear to have a major overhaul ahead on that side of the ball.
In assessing some of the assets on the roster, Schwartz cited receiver Calvin Johnson ("a big-time player") and second-year running back Kevin Smith ("we liked him in Tennessee") as those who have caught his eye. So while offensive coordinator Scott Linehan has some explosiveness to work with, a big question remains quarterback (Daunte Culpepper, Jon Kitna, or someone else?).
Thanks to a shrewd in-season trade in which they sent receiver Roy Williams to Dallas for first- and third-round draft choices, the Lions currently have five of the first 82 picks in the draft, including the first overall selection.
Those are key pieces in Schwartz's vision, along with first-year general manager Martin Mayhew, to rebuild the team.
"We have cap money available this year, and with those five picks, we have to take advantage of that," Schwartz said. "We have an opportunity to infuse this team with new talent and we can't miss that opportunity."
Getting drafty in here
Having spent more than three hours listening to draft analysts Mike Mayock (NFL Network) and Mel Kiper (ESPN) on conference calls last week, we offer some general nuggets on this year's draft (April 25-26):
Waldron's ascent a nice promotion for the Tufts program
Tufts football coach Bill Samko was approached last week by the school's sports information director, Paul Sweeney, about a story on how Tufts graduates Shane Waldron (Patriots) and Andy Dickerson (Browns) were working their way up the NFL's coaching ranks as entry-level quality-control coaches.
Sensing that good news was around the corner, Samko told Sweeney that if he wanted to write the story, he'd better run the journalism version of the hurry-up attack. His prediction was that Waldron, who graduated from Tufts with an economics degree in 2002, would be promoted to Patriots tight ends coach.
That's exactly how it unfolded - the Patriots making the move official Thursday - and it had the Tufts football community buzzing.
Samko recalled recruiting Waldron, who grew up in Portland, Ore., during the player's postgraduate year at Phillips Andover Academy in 1998.
"You could tell that he had a really strong work ethic," said Samko, the Jumbos' 15-year head coach. "He was a good-sized kid, and you knew that if he worked at it, he would be fine. That's what carried him, his tireless work ethic."
Waldron played center at the start of his college career, before serving as a block-first tight end. Samko relayed that Waldron handled all snapping duties for four seasons, and when he joined the Patriots, his snapping skills were utilized at times during practice when the team needed an extra set of hands.
"We're extremely proud of him," Samko said. "He's worked tremendously hard for the opportunity, and started at the low end of the totem pole. Stuff runs downhill fast in those jobs, but he worked hard and long to get where he is now. It's nice when it works that way."
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Mike Reiss can be reached at mreiss@globe.com.
