Much was made of the decision of Titans coach Jim Schwartz to show up in Nashville to lure defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch to the Lions.
He wasn’t the only member of the coaching staff who made a house call.
As Tom Kowalski of Mlive.om explains, offensive coordinator Scott Linehan went to Seattle for a 9:00 p.m. PT visit with receiver Nate Burleson.
Linehan was the offensive coordinator in Minnesota in 2004, when Burleson had the biggest year of his career.
But Schwartz says personal trips won’t become the new norm for the Lions.
“It was kind of a perfect storm this year,’' Schwartz said. “We went because we knew those guys. If you don’t know the guy, that might be a little awkward. You’d be in there 10 minutes and then you’d be gone.”
Schwartz also admitted that he borrowed the concept from Jets coach Rex Ryan, who showed up last year at linebacker Bart Scott’s house.
“It was great idea, Rex put himself out there,’' Schwartz said. “It worked because Rex had coached Bart before.’'
Still, the fact that the Lions were so willing to pounce on players like Vanden Bosch and Burleson makes even more glaring the failure of Schwartz to make a play for former Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth in 2009. For Haynesworth’s first seven NFL seasons, Schwartz had been his defensive coordinator. And if Schwartz didn’t think he was worth $40 million guaranteed, that’s all we need to know as to whether the Redskins made a wise investment.