Jim Schwartz does not think Matthew Stafford’s poor play got him fired as head coach of the Lions.
Schwartz, now the Bills’ defensive coordinator, told 104.5 in Nashville that the Lions’ late-season collapse can’t be pinned on Stafford or any other individual.
“Yeah, you know, we were 2-6 over the last half of last season, and when you’re 2-6 nobody is feeling good about their performance, whether you’re the head coach, the quarterback or a defensive lineman,” Schwartz said, via ESPN.com. “But it’s a team game and I wouldn’t pin it on Matt Stafford. Matt’s an outstanding quarterback. He led us to the playoffs. Just about every record in the Lions offense, total offense and passing offense was set by Matt Stafford in the last three years. He’s going to lead that team to many great things in the future. Everybody has some rough spots here and there, and it’s up to the rest of the team to pick you up.”
Stafford may not deserve all the blame, but he did have 11 interceptions and six fumbles in the Lions’ last six games, a stretch in which Detroit went 1-5. New Lions coach Jim Caldwell has to get Stafford playing better than he played under Schwartz, or else it won’t be long before Caldwell is, like Schwartz, no longer an NFL head coach.