Just ask the Chicago Bears, whose hiring of Marc Trestman has put their quarterbacks and receivers into overdrive. Or the Philadelphia Eagles, who have been recharged with Chip Kelly.
Then there have been the cleanup acts. The San Diego Chargers got what they needed from Mike McCoy, reviving Philip Rivers and reducing his mistakes. The Kansas City Chiefs have seen all their discipline and turnover issues go away with Andy Reid working with Alex Smith.
It was just two seasons ago, when the Lions were a 10-6 NFC wild-card entrant, it seemed as though the Schwartz-Stafford connection was about to turn a long-time also-ran into a consistent conference contender. Instead, after last year’s 4-12 debacle and this year’s near-blown chance at the NFC North title while injured-riddled rivals Chicago and Green Bay were both down their starting quarterbacks, the tandem has to break up.
Stafford threw three interceptions in an 18-16 loss to the Ravens, and has now committed 21 turnovers in 14 games. That takes away from his other gaudy stats of 30 total touchdowns and 4,211 passing yards. It’s also telling in his updated record against teams with winning records over his career: 4-28.
Schwartz has to carry a lot of the blame for that.
His crowning achievement as a defensive-mined head coach was installing Detroit’s glossy front four, where Ziggy Ansah has joined Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley on what’s become the league’s best defensive line.
That’s good and all, but the teams that win consistently, get to the playoffs and battle for Super Bowls in the offense-happy league, do so when they are driven by great quarterback play. Just ask the Ravens, who won it all when they made it all about making Joe Flacco succeed.
The Lions gave Stafford a new five-year, $76.5 million contract ($41.5 million guaranteed), so he isn’t going anywhere. The same can’t be said for Schwartz, who is headed out the door with the Lions on the verge of being out of the playoffs.
To save Stafford’s future, the Lions need to pair him with a new, offensive-minded coach, effective next season. There are some great offensive minds waiting to be NFL head coaches, from college (Penn State’s Bill O’Brien) to other successful pro offenses (Seattle’s Darrell Bevell, Denver’s Adam Gase). It worked for the Eagles, Bears and Chargers, and it’s the direction the Lions need to go.
They had no trouble giving Stafford and Johnson ($150 million) big money. Now they need to protect their investment with a coach who can deliver a much bigger bang for those bucks.
RYAN WANTS TO STAY
Now that the New York Jets are officially out of playoff contention, the focus will now shift to the future of Rex Ryan. Ryan, who was been the Jets' head coach since 2009, reiterated that he would very much like to return next season.
“I’m a competent guy, even though I know that’ll be questioned a zillion times forward and backward,” Ryan said, according to the Newark Star Ledger. “That’s fine. But I know I’m a good football coach. I believe in this team. I believe in this organization. And I’m determined to bring a winner to this team. There’s no question about it. And I believe that I’m the right guy for it. I’m not the guy making that decision. If I was, it would be easy. I think that this team is on the right path. It might not be reflected in our record right now. I understand that. But I believe this team is going in the right direction.”
Given that Ryan's contract is up at the end of this season, it was widely believed that first-year Jets general manager John Idzik would seek to find his own hand-selected coach to lead the organization forward. The fact that Ryan was a layover from the Mike Tannenbaum era would make things all that much easier.
Coming into this season, very few people thought the Jets would top the six-win plateau. If that was indeed the case, how could anyone blame the Jets from wanting to move in a different direction? However, if New York wins its last two regular season games against the Browns and Dolphins, they will finish with a respectable 8-8 record.
Over the course of the past four seasons, the Jets' talent has gradually declined, so the fact that the boisterous leader may coax eight wins out of this particular group is impressive. Ryan is a players coach, and despite his shortcomings on the offensive side of the ball, he still has the ability to scheme and motivate the troops on defense.
Offensive tackle Willie Colon seemed to back up the idea that Ryan's voice can still resonate within the Jets' locker room.
"I'll stand on a soap box and say, 'Rex is my coach,'" Colon added. "He's one of the main reasons I came here. I love the guy to death. I love his passion, I love his heart."
Colon also said that losing Ryan wouldn't help the Jets get better moving forward.
"I think if he doesn't come back it would be a step back for us as a team," he said.
There is no doubt that the son of Buddy Ryan, who is viewed by many to be the greatest defensive mind of all time, can still be an effective leader of an NFL team. The question is whether that team is the New York Jets. If the Jets do manage to finish the season at .500, then the decision will be that much harder for Idzik. If New York drops its final two games, then Ryan will likely be looking for a new job at the end of the season.
RODGERS’ STATUS
Matt Flynn orchestrated a franchise-record comeback against the Dallas Cowboys, but that doesn’t mean the Packers aren’t eager to get Aaron Rodgers back.
Rodgers has practiced on a limited basis, but has not been medically cleared to play. He broke his collarbone and has missed six straight games. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, no update on Rodgers’ status will be made before Wednesday.
The Packers play the Steelers on Sunday.
“We’re game-planning right now for Matt Flynn,” coach Mike McCarthy told the Journal Sentinel. “That’s where we started our conversation Saturday. We do some preliminary game planning each week for the next opponent. That’s the way we’re going about it as an offensive staff.”
Flynn, meanwhile, is doing all he can to keep the Packers’ in the playoff chase. He led a 23-point comeback to upset the Cowboys. He was shaky in the first half, and coaches considered replacing him with Scott Tolzien. Instead, they stuck it out with Flynn, who in four starts has completed 64 percent of his passes for 914 yards and three touchdowns.
HUBER HAVING SURGERY FRIDAY
Bengals punter Kevin Huber says he'll have surgery on Friday to repair his broken jaw, which was injured during a 30-20 loss in Pittsburgh on Sunday night. Pittsburgh's Terence Garvin hit him in the jaw with his helmet during a block on a punt return.
Bengals players were off Tuesday, but Huber visited Paul Brown Stadium. He told The Associated Press that he broke his jaw by the chin and also cracked one vertebra.
The Bengals (9-5) need to find a punter for their home game Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings (4-9-1).
WOODLEY PLACED ON IR
The Pittsburgh Steelers have placed linebacker LaMarr Woodley on injured reserve with his second significant calf injury of the season.
Woodley left Sunday's 30-20 win over Cincinnati in the first quarter after straining his right calf. Woodley missed three games earlier this year with a strained left calf. Pittsburgh signed linebacker Jamaal Westerman to take Woodley's spot on the 53-man roster. Westerman has played 57 games during his five-year career. He was cut by Buffalo last week.
The decision to place Woodley on injured reserve puts his future with the Steelers in doubt. The 29-year-old is in the third year of a six-year extension he signed before the 2011 season. He is due more than $13 million next year but hasn't played a full 16-game schedule since 2010.
SAINTS CUT HARTLEY
The New Orleans Saints are done with kicker Garrett Hartley. They waived him Tuesday after he missed two more kicks in Sunday's loss.
Hartley was 22-for-30 (career-worst 73.3 percent) on field-goal attempts this season. He was in his sixth year with the Saints.
NFL.com reported that the Saints had been wary of Hartley for about a month. According to the site, the team worked out veteran kickers Neil Rackers, Shayne Graham and others in November.
Hartley's replacement will be under pressure from the start; the Saints will face the Carolina Panthers on Sunday in Charlotte in an NFC South showdown.
The Saints also cut cornerback Chris Carr on Tuesday.
COWBOYS INJURIES
The Dallas Cowboys have placed linebacker Justin Durant on season-ending injured reserve and released linebacker Kyle Bosworth and defensive tackle Drake Nevis.
Durant injured a hamstring in Sunday's loss to Green Bay, and the Cowboys played most of the game without their top four linebackers. Sean Lee's return is in question for the final two games because of a neck injury.
The Cowboys re-signed linebacker Orie Lemon and released running back George Winn from the practice squad Tuesday.
Dallas now has two open spots on the active roster and one on the practice squad.
Contributors: Vinnie Iyer, Rana L. Cash, Tom Gatto, The Associated Press
