OT - Jim Schwartz fired
December 30th, 2013 at 12:01 PM ^
Come on D'Antoni to Lions come on
December 30th, 2013 at 12:02 PM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 12:03 PM ^
Do you think he would leave the Lakers?
/dickcomment
December 30th, 2013 at 12:04 PM ^
My bad. But yes, I hope Dantonio and Narduzzi leave MSU.
December 30th, 2013 at 12:13 PM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 12:47 PM ^
Because East Lansing is a destination, not a stop.
December 30th, 2013 at 8:09 PM ^
the last Michigan State coach to coach the Lions, Darryl Rogers. He was the head coach of Arizona State in-between coaching the Spartans and Lions. He lead ASU to a 5-6 record, and got an NFL job! Unreal.
I think Dantonio is a great hire, though. Unlike Darryl Rogers.
December 31st, 2013 at 1:11 AM ^
I remember the name, had to look up his forgettable (Lions) record (18-40). 5-6 was just in his last season at ASU, but it was 7-4, 9-2, 10-2, 6-4-1 before that. Started out 7-9 with the Lions in 1985, then 5-11, 4-11 (Sept Chicago game was canceled), and lastly 2-9 before getting fired in-season after a three-game losing streak, the last loss at home to Tampa Bay (which moved them up to 3-8) and being replaced by Wayne Fontes.
December 30th, 2013 at 12:02 PM ^
No surprise at all. But nothing will change until WCF is gone and someone else is running the team (maybe).
December 30th, 2013 at 12:05 PM ^
I'm guessing Junior is in charge. WCF Sr. quite probably would've kept Schwartz.
December 30th, 2013 at 12:13 PM ^
I am still switching sides. Go Pack Go!
December 30th, 2013 at 12:19 PM ^
Mayhew is fine by me. He's put together a team that should've won 11 games this year.
December 30th, 2013 at 12:40 PM ^
exactly has he put together? Terrible draft after terrible draft. This last class is credited to Brian Xanders. Mayhew can jump off the boat anytime too. He doesn't get a pass!
December 30th, 2013 at 12:50 PM ^
that it can't be credited to him. Mayhew ultimately makes the final call. You're exaggerating the draft part because he has drafted quality players. Yes, he missed on some players like every GM. He gets a pass because he took a team from 0-16 to a team that should win 12 games this season.
December 30th, 2013 at 12:54 PM ^
Let's look over this so-called terrible draft record:
2009: Stafford, Pettigrew, Delmas, Levy. Four starters out of ten picks, including a guy who everyone says was robbed of a Pro Bowl selection.
2010: Suh, Fox, Young. Two starters and a backup out of six picks, including finding a perfectly good starting DE in the 7th round.
2011: Fairley. One starter in five picks.
2012: Reiff, Bentley, Greenwood, Green. One starter and three badly-needed depth cornerbacks - who've played reasonably well when pressed into action late this year.
2013: Ansah, Slay, Warford, Taylor, Martin. This looks like a GREAT draft, frankly.
It's real easy to point to misses like screwball Titus Young and injury-prone guys like Best, Broyles, etc., but doing so operates under the delusional pretense that every NFL team doesn't have those kinds of misses. Mayhew's got a pretty darn good draft record if you ask me.
December 30th, 2013 at 4:16 PM ^
network analysts are saying that the Lions head coaching job is easily the most coveted openning. Just look at the roster. There's young talent all over the place. The vast majority of which was brought here by Mayhew. Mayhew can only supply the talent; its the coaches job to develop and instil discipline in it.
December 30th, 2013 at 2:13 PM ^
Martin Mayhew hired Brian Xanders. It's not like Xanders popped up in the draft room like crabgrass. So if you like Xanders you should give Mayhew credit, not disparagement.
As M&BYahoo's ably pointed out, the Mayhew drafts have not quite been the disasters some are making them out to be. There's been a quantum leap from the Matt Millen drafts of days gone by.
December 30th, 2013 at 12:40 PM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 1:40 PM ^
OT: WTF did you do to get nearly 1 billion negative points? That's actually kind of impressive.
December 30th, 2013 at 1:53 PM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 2:08 PM ^
Was that a Brian imposed negative billion, or did that come from good honest user negs?
December 30th, 2013 at 2:38 PM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 12:02 PM ^
Well I was wrong. And I'm so happy to be wrong.
December 30th, 2013 at 12:31 PM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 1:44 PM ^
Your concern for my personal well being is comforting.
Edit: Took me a minute but I see what you did there :) well played!
December 30th, 2013 at 11:28 PM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 12:03 PM ^
I consider myself lucky I didn't have to wait too long in between deciding I wanted Schwartz gone and it actually happening. I said this season he ought to be fired if he couldn't make the playoffs, and his actions during the Giants game (criticizing fans for booing) rubbed me exactly the wrong way and cemented my desire to get rid of him.
Bottom line: way too much talent to choke and underachieve like that, particularly with Aaron Rodgers out. Schwartz kept talking about just being a play away - but when you're a play away in like six different games, that's on the coach.
Bring in Whisenhunt.
December 30th, 2013 at 12:03 PM ^
I just hope that whoever gets hired brings a competent defensive coordinator with them. With that D line, we should be getting pressure much more than we do with a four man front.
December 30th, 2013 at 12:09 PM ^
Hire BOB, draft Lee and Dennard, and bingo, Super Bowl champs. At least that is how my dream goes.
December 30th, 2013 at 12:40 PM ^
What Stafford really needs is someone to call him out on the BS mechanics he's gotten into a horrible habit of using. Sidearm throws? Come on.
December 30th, 2013 at 12:51 PM ^
It's his footwork that I have more of a problem. It's inconsistent and doesn't set his feet to drive the ball downfield accurately.
December 30th, 2013 at 12:14 PM ^
I think more than anything this team needs to find a good QB coach for Stafford. He's got lods of talent but so far he has yet to play to his full potential.
December 30th, 2013 at 12:04 PM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 3:13 PM ^
Well played Sir
December 30th, 2013 at 12:06 PM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 12:06 PM ^
Thank God this happened. I was one of those worried that the Lions were going to keep Schwartz. Although this was a brutal sports year, at least we have a positive thing happen going into 2014.
December 30th, 2013 at 12:07 PM ^
And if rumors around here are true we now have the new head coach of my CLEVELAND BROWNS! Sweet Jesus could this really happen? Could the same idiot destroy both teams I care about?
December 30th, 2013 at 12:12 PM ^
It may not be the worst thing ever. He could possibly get the Browns out of the basement. He's not the guy to take the Lions to the playoffs consistently but he could take the Browns a couple steps of the way. If you don't mind some of the jerk things he does like call out the fans for booing him.
December 30th, 2013 at 2:50 PM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 12:07 PM ^
AHHHHHHH YAHHOOOOOOOO.... Now time to fire Borges and whoever else.
December 30th, 2013 at 12:10 PM ^
This is the first time I have seen the Fords do something, anything, that suggests that they are sick of losing.
December 30th, 2013 at 12:11 PM ^
ESPN says Detroit gig is the best job available right now.
I don't know if I would agree with that. Texans job is pretty good. And Tampa has the 7th pick.
December 30th, 2013 at 12:18 PM ^
The Texans are going to have QB issues and really don't have the top-end talent the Lions have. The Lions are built to succeed right now and have the 10th pick besides - all you have to do is get them to play to their potential and you'll be a god. There's a QB that just needs some coaching up, a mega-star at receiver, a great front four, decent linebacking, an improving secondary and O-line, talent at RB... and a fanbase that would put you on an altar if you can hang a lousy division banner. I agree with ESPN, it's a plum job right now.
December 30th, 2013 at 12:22 PM ^
Their QB issues will be solved by Teddy Bridgewater and they have a dynamic running game when it isn't decimated by injuries. Also AFC south is the worst division in football and it really isn't close. And the AFC looks a lot easier than the NFC. The top two teams in the AFC are relying on aging QBs and one a suspect defense and the other a suspect receiving core. In the NFC the Seahawks, Panthers, 49ers and Eagles are all relatively young and show no signs of going away.
December 30th, 2013 at 12:28 PM ^
No franchise ever had its QB issues solved before it drafted and coached up the new quarterback. No such thing as a given in that industry.
December 30th, 2013 at 12:33 PM ^
If the last couple years have shown anything its that you can win in a hurry with young QBs. Luck, Kaepernick, Wilson and now Foles. I'd take my chances on Bridgewater being a franchise QB over Stafford. And Bridgewater won't be taking up a ton of cap space like Stafford is.
December 30th, 2013 at 12:44 PM ^
Or that you can crash and burn with them. Freeman, Ponder, Bradford, Manuel, RGIII, Weeden, Pryor, McGloin..... all this shows is that really a new, younger quarterback is more of a disaster proposition than a guarantee of success, and that a first-rounder is no more likely to succeed than any other. Three of the four guys you mentioned were not first rounders.
Fact is, Stafford is a franchise QB. He's been here five years, he's setting passing records both team and league, and he'll be here for at least a few more. He has his flaws but by any definition he's a franchise QB.
December 30th, 2013 at 1:17 PM ^
You can't seriously be comparing Weeden, Ponder, Freeman, and Manuel to Bridgewater. Those picks were reaches when they were made and basically everyone knew that. Bradford was thrown in to a terrible situation in St.Louis. Pryor and McGloin were later round picks.