Lions staff to coach South team in Senior Bowl

Lions coach Jim Schwartz and his staff will coach the South team at the Senior Bowl. (US Presswire)

For the second time in four seasons, a collection of the country’s elite college football talent that has exhausted their eligibility will get their first experience in an NFL-sanctioned practice environment from Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz and his staff.

The Lions officially accepted an invitation Thursday to coach the South team in the Senior Bowl, an annual event held in Mobile, Ala., that brings together the nation’s top college seniors for a week of practice under the guidance of NFL coaches and an exhibition game on Jan. 26.

“The Senior Bowl is fortunate to have the Detroit Lions and Oakland Raiders as our coaching staffs this year,” said Senior Bowl executive director Phil Savage. “Both organizations really wanted to be here and will do a great job of coaching both of our outstanding rosters.”

Coaching staffs are selected by the Senior Bowl in conjunction with the NFL, and invitations to coach the game are typically extended to teams with the worst records from the previous season. The Lions received the invitation in part because the Eagles and Chiefs, who were two of the teams in front of Detroit on the NFL Draft order, fired their coaches this week.

This year’s Senior Bowl will be the third time Schwartz has coached in the game. He was an assistant on the Titans’ staff that coached a team in 2006, and he served as the head coach of the 2010 game before his second season in Detroit. Schwartz’ 31-13 win that year is the only time a Lions’ staff was victorious in the game, going 1-6-1 in eight previous appearances in the all-star game.

The game itself may be fun for the players, but it’s an afterthought for NFL coaches and executives. The main focus of the event is the week of practices that allow team officials to evaluate players’ on-field performance in a less-regimented setting than the NFL scouting combine and collegiate pro days.

Another aspect of the Senior Bowl that the Lions find valuable is the interviews with participants that take place throughout the week. GM Martin Mayhew has said in previous years that Senior Bowl interviews can sometimes provide a greater insight into a player’s background than the ones conducted at the scouting combine.  

Schwartz said he and his staff would embrace the challenge of coaching in the game this season, and that he was excited about the chance to have close contact with players that could help formulate the Lions’ draft strategy.

“I think there is some insight involved in getting to know those guys over a course of the week and it can confirm some of our scouts’ evaluations,” Schwartz said. “[The week] can also maybe give us a different perspective on some other guys [we hadn’t seen before].”

Schwartz pointed out current Lions’ RB Joique Bell as an example of the type of player that can benefit from a strong showing at the game. Bell played at Wayne State (Mich.) University, and his work with Schwartz at the 2010 Senior Bowl helped establish his credentials as an NFL-caliber talent.

“We knew [Bell] enough from here and worked him out and all those different things because he was a local kid, but we also had him for a whole week [at the Senior Bowl],” Schwartz said. “Even though he started his career Buffalo and then he was with New Orleans, he was a guy we always sort of had in the back of our mind. Our experience with him that week helped get him here.”

The Senior Bowl and the entire week of practices before the game will be televised by NFL Network.