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Jim Schwartz wants to return to coaching in 2016

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When the Dolphins fired defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle earlier this month, former Lions head coach Jim Schwartz’s name came up as a possibility to replace him for the rest of the season.

Schwartz, who spent 2014 as the defensive coordinator in Buffalo, reportedly passed on the opportunity to remain as a consultant to the league’s officiating department. That isn’t where he wants to spend the 2016 season, however.

Schwartz told Don Banks of SI.com that he wants to return to coaching next year, although he plans to be selective about where to jump back into the pool.

“What I’ve been afforded is the chance to make sure that any opportunity I take is the best choice,” Schwartz said. “Look at Tom Coughlin after Jacksonville. He was able to find a very good opportunity with the Giants. It’s easy to look around and point out some coaches in the past where their second opportunity came in a place that might not have been the most conducive for success, and for some of them, that’s the last you heard of them. You can get a second chance. You’re not going to get two more chances.”

Schwartz also says that his time spent working with the officiating department has given him “a really good education” into that facet of the game, something he thinks will help him when he does return to the sideline. Schwartz doesn’t say whether he’s looking for a head coaching job or a coordinator position, although the latter might be both more realistic and the best way to put himself in position to follow in Coughlin’s footsteps as a head coach who had much more success in his second NFL stop.

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46 Responses to “Jim Schwartz wants to return to coaching in 2016”
  1. thetruthcampaign says: Oct 27, 2015 4:30 PM

    Sooo, he made NFL officiating much worse, and now he thinks the Dolphins or Lions are going to come knocking?

  2. mack2x says: Oct 27, 2015 4:31 PM

    He’s too much of a tool to be a head coach again.

  3. dogfromduckhunt says: Oct 27, 2015 4:31 PM

    Basically he wants to wait until he’s not being paid to not coach anymore.

  4. bostontdparty says: Oct 27, 2015 4:32 PM

    He’s a consultant to the leagues officiating department?

    Is this a joke?

    What does he tell them?

  5. iammrbinky says: Oct 27, 2015 4:33 PM

    Great DC, not so good at the head coaching level.

  6. 87hollywoodhorn says: Oct 27, 2015 4:39 PM

    hes not good enough to be an HC but is defintely good enough to have a job. Talent stacks up to Jim Haslett imo, and he was in the league for quite some time.

  7. suhmonster90 says: Oct 27, 2015 4:41 PM

    Lions?
    Just kidding, he can go get carried off into the sunset somewhere else.

  8. tennesseeoilers says: Oct 27, 2015 4:42 PM

    We would sure welcome his return to Nashville. … And I don’t mean as defensive coordinator.

    – Titans Fan

  9. eroschmidt says: Oct 27, 2015 4:43 PM

    Is he willing to come back to Buffalo? We’re sorry Jim!!! Come back!

  10. coltzfan166 says: Oct 27, 2015 4:44 PM

    Let’s cut him some slack on the HC thing. After all, he took over the hardest job in the NFL: head coach of the first ever 0-16 team. And he had them in the playoffs in three years.

    With that said, I don’t think I want him as the HC of my team, but I’d for sure love him to replace Greg Manusky as DC

  11. groleo45 says: Oct 27, 2015 4:44 PM

    Wonder if he gets an interview in Detroit???

  12. morr24 says: Oct 27, 2015 4:47 PM

    If the Panthers’ defense continues to perform well, I suspect Sean McDermott will be offered a head coaching job at which point the Panthers would need a defensive coordinator.

  13. jag1959 says: Oct 27, 2015 4:49 PM

    Schwartzie has been a consultant to the league’s officiating department this year? Actually that explains a lot…

  14. vbe2 says: Oct 27, 2015 4:49 PM

    May the Schwartz be with you!

  15. whatjusthapped says: Oct 27, 2015 4:51 PM

    He’s got the same problem I have, I want to be a head coach in the NFL too, but nobody will hire me.

  16. scoops1 says: Oct 27, 2015 4:51 PM

    he should try the FXFL

  17. tigerlilac says: Oct 27, 2015 4:53 PM

    Rex is making him look good. He had a #4 defense. Under Rex it is #27.

  18. flaccosmoustache says: Oct 27, 2015 5:04 PM

    Are Lions fans really going to attempt to sell us in the fact that they aren’t pining for the Jim Schwartz glory days? Because those days are looking great right about now.

  19. randy8123 says: Oct 27, 2015 5:07 PM

    The guy you worked for in Cleveland is another decent example.

  20. willycents says: Oct 27, 2015 5:14 PM

    I can think of one coach who did well on his second gig. Coached at Cleveland years back I think. WTH was his name….went to a loser franchise at the time…..Oh Yeah, Beleneck? Belicheat? Oh yeah, Belichek. I wonder if that second franchise regrets giving him a second chance. Probably not.

  21. joetoronto says: Oct 27, 2015 5:18 PM

    Bills fans, say it loud and say it proud.

    “We’re #27!!!!”

  22. tigersfandan says: Oct 27, 2015 5:22 PM

    flaccosmoustache says:
    Oct 27, 2015 5:04 PM
    Are Lions fans really going to attempt to sell us in the fact that they aren’t pining for the Jim Schwartz glory days? Because those days are looking great right about now.
    ____________________________________

    We don’t have to sell you anything. It will be true regardless of if you believe it. Schwartz was disappointing. Caldwell is horrible. We’d prefer to shoot for something better than ‘disappointing’.

  23. tigerlilac says: Oct 27, 2015 5:22 PM

    In retrospect, does anyone really think it was Schwartz that was the jerk and not Jim Harbaugh?

  24. tigersfandan says: Oct 27, 2015 5:22 PM

    joetoronto says:
    Oct 27, 2015 5:18 PM
    Bills fans, say it loud and say it proud.

    “We’re #27!!!!”
    ____________________________________

    We get it. You don’t like the Bills. Not sure why that is, but whatever…

  25. VenerableAxiom says: Oct 27, 2015 5:32 PM

    All things considered, thanks for not taking the Dolphins job. Go Cambo! Go Dolphins!

  26. tennesseeoilers says: Oct 27, 2015 5:36 PM

    Coaches who won Super Bowls with their second head coaching opportunity:

    Tom Coughlin
    Tony Dungy
    Jon Gruden
    Dick Vermeil
    Mike Shanahan
    Don Shula
    Weeb Ewbank

    NOTE: Bill Belichick was actually named head coach for the Jets with his second opportunity. And third. And in bizarre twists, never coached a game for them either time.

  27. titans4evr says: Oct 27, 2015 5:37 PM

    Caldwell after inheriting the Lions from Schwartz is turning them back into a dumpster fire. Yes misbehaved in some ways but Schwartz turned the Lions from the worst loser into a winner.

    I would like to see Schwartz return to Tennessee and get rid of Wizz. with only 1 win so far, in a pathetic division, the playoffs are still likely out of reach for us, so I hope we lose out and make that head coach change rather than commit to more years of misery.

    D is improving with LeBeau, and Mariota could be a very good player one day. But this team, and any team without an absolutely superstar under the center won’t win under Wisenhunt.

  28. markpackman says: Oct 27, 2015 5:47 PM

    He’s a head case, not a head coach!

  29. iloveagoodnap says: Oct 27, 2015 5:51 PM

    Coach the defense in Buffalo under a new head coach

  30. schmitty2 says: Oct 27, 2015 6:09 PM

    If he is referring to being a head coach more than as a DC I don’t think ol’ Gym Shorts is in a position to be picky.

  31. metrocritical says: Oct 27, 2015 6:10 PM

    First of all, the “May the Schwartz be with you” thing stopped being funny about 6 years ago, after the first guy said it.

    Second, to “less smarts than in” flaccosmoustache: Nobody in Detroit wants Schwartz back. Though his surly temperament is the opposite of Gentle “Jim “I’m not sure what’s happening” Caldwell, his track record is no better. Those were not glory days or good old days. Those were days following a nuclear winter where the team finally didn’t look like mutants rising from toxic sludge. In football, the opposite of bad is not “good” but, rather, “not bad.” When the best you can say about a head coach is that his team was not bad it might be time to set some higher standards.

  32. mandings36 says: Oct 27, 2015 6:12 PM

    the lions job will be open after this year is over

    but in all seriousness, he is not head coach material

  33. laserw says: Oct 27, 2015 6:16 PM

    Maybe he should start as a greeter for Walmart. Then try something a bit more difficult afterwards.

  34. qbarrel says: Oct 27, 2015 6:26 PM

    That’s nice. I want to be wealthy, 6’5″, and with a full head of hair in 2016. Oh yeah, and I’d also like the ability to fly, predict the future, perform the ‘Jedi Mind Trick’ and time travel.

  35. ttoptom says: Oct 27, 2015 6:32 PM

    “You’re not going to get two more chances.”

    Unless you are Norv Turner and apparently have incriminating photographs of team owners! He has managed to permanently destroy 3 teams.

  36. annes22 says: Oct 27, 2015 6:38 PM

    Excuse me but you think you can pick and choose??? Well, maybe you missed the boat. Coach Campbell is 2/0 so far, and maybe you should have thought a little more about the offer with the Dolphins recently. It wasn’t good enough for you so fine, carry one and hope you find the big job you are looking for. You might look for a while.

  37. isphet71 says: Oct 27, 2015 6:50 PM

    Us Lions fans don’t look at Schwartz as the glory days. We look at Wayne Fontes as the Glory days.

    Makes me want to cry, but that’s the whole truth.

  38. alfredogarciashead says: Oct 27, 2015 6:56 PM

    Jim there’s a DC slot open at the high school down the street taking applications.

  39. edelmanfanclub says: Oct 27, 2015 6:56 PM

    Gym shorts cant find a DC job yet “Geep Chyrst”ler calls plays for some team.

  40. aldavisisthenfl says: Oct 27, 2015 7:03 PM

    Schwartz is no Coughlin…..nice try though Jim…lol

  41. thetruthcampaign says: Oct 27, 2015 7:22 PM

    Remember the Lion’s brutal collapse against weaker teams in 2013? We loss 6 of the last 7 under Schwartz.

    Schwartz/Linehan had the offense working, but the D was very bad. Last season, Caldwell/Austin had the defense REALLY working, probably our best defensive season in a long time, but the offense couldn’t beat a good team. This season, it looks like both.

    Schwartz is being hopeful. Remember, ex-Lion HC’s don’t HC ever again.

  42. adtepper says: Oct 27, 2015 7:56 PM

    i hope he gets another shot… in the division of my favrotie team so we have 2 gimmies per year. this is a joke and so are all of you defending him and making up to be a good coach, right? guy was 26/54 w/ detroit and people talking about how he turned them into a playoff team? really? they made the playoffs off of a 6/10 record the preceding year and got a cupcake schedule the next year. they fell back to earth. this happens a lot in the nfl where a team is a one year wonder b/c the stars align, not b/c they have a great coach. great coaches provide sustainable success. not to mention, they had the most undisciplined team since the 70’s Raiders. he also tried to fight another coach (harbaugh i think). he has zero respect from ownership and either even less from players which is why they don’t play hard / win or follow the rules b/c they don’t care. or he his coaching is about playing dirty. no matter what, there is not one reason why this guy should be considered a good head coach. he is the Suh of coaching… needs to be fully controlled by someone else (ie, can be a DC under a strong HC) or else you are asking for disaster. this guy is a JOKE.

  43. corporatemediaprostitute says: Oct 27, 2015 8:02 PM

    Weeb Ewbank was a hell of a coach! Dead or alive, the Leos could do worse.

  44. thingamajig says: Oct 27, 2015 11:12 PM

    “Schwartz also says that his time spent working with the officiating department has given him “a really good education” into that facet of the game, something he thinks will help him when he does return to the sideline.”

    That’s an odd thing for a consultant to say. Consultants are suppose to give information and knowledge to their employer so just who’s consulting who here?

  45. Frum Slum says: Oct 28, 2015 3:43 AM

    Gym Shorts

  46. billsfaninhouston says: Oct 30, 2015 1:23 PM

    I think both the Bills fans and players would welcome him back. The Rex Ryan Defense has been terrible. Perhaps the NFL has past Rexy by? Just sayin’!

    Anyways, the front four on Buffalo were much better utilized and suited for the defense Schwartz put out there. I was actually disappointed that they didn’t keep him after Rex was hired. But, egos tend to rule after those sort of things……

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