| Lions coach Jim Schwartz spent 10 seasons as a defensive assistant with the Titans from 1999-2008. Schwartz will face his old team in Sunday's matchup (US Presswire) |
Jim Schwartz knows what type of week Mike Munchak is having after the Tennessee Titans opened the season with their second straight defeat of three touchdowns or more.
Schwartz lost his first two games as an NFL head coach by a combined 32 points before the Lions snapped the second-longest losing streak in league history with a win the following week over the Redskins. Schwartz, who spent 10 seasons with the Titans as a defensive assistant, vividly recalls a loss to the Bills in the 2000 regular season opener. A year after defeating the Bills in the Music City Miracle and coming inches from forcing overtime in Super Bowl XXXIV, the Titans were edged on the road 16-13 at Buffalo.
“We were 0-1 and everybody was feeling bad,” Schwartz said. “There’s a lot of scrutiny in this league, and people need a lot of things to talk about. But what you need to do is go to work every day, improve every week and be resilient. Those are all qualities that Mike has.”
Sunday’s game between Detroit and Tennessee will be a homecoming of sorts for several Lions coaches and players. It will be Schwartz's first game at LP Field since the former Titans’ defensive coordinator became head coach of the Lions in 2009. It will also be the first game in Nashville for former Titans DE Kyle Vanden Bosch and LB Stephen Tulloch since both signed as free agents with the Lions. Former Titans safety and secondary coach Marcus Robertson also joined Schwartz’s staff in the offseason after parting ways with the Titans.
In 2010, Vanden Bosch signed with the Lions after Schwartz famously waited by a gate outside the defensive end’s neighborhood at midnight on the first day teams could contact free agents. In five seasons with the Titans (2005-2009), Vanden Bosch recorded 38.5 sacks and earned three trips to the Pro Bowl.
“All else equal, I would have loved to have stayed in Nashville,” Vanden Bosch said. “The fans are awesome, I really like the organization. I think both sides knew it was time for me to move on -- I honestly have no hard feelings about it.”
During his stint with the Titans, Vanden Bosch became close with left tackle Michael Roos. The two Pro Bowlers faced each other often in practice and will likely line up against each other Sunday.
“From those years I know how hard you have to go against him,” Roos said. “You can’t fall asleep. It was good going against a guy like that early in my career. He was relentless and didn’t stop. It was good practice for me.”
Vanden Bosch was joined by Tulloch in Detroit last summer, days after the lockout. Tulloch, who was drafted by the Titans in the fourth round in 2006, finished second in the NFL in tackles during the 2010 season with 169. Last season, Tulloch led the Lions with 111 tackles.
“As much as the scheme and the system there helped me in my career, Tulloch was built for what we do defensively here,” Vanden Bosch said. “People there know he’s a tackling machine. Anything that moves, he’s going to hit.”
Munchak isn’t surprised the Schwartz led the Lions to the playoffs in only his third season at the helm.
“I knew when he got the chance to get interviewed that there was no doubt he’d be a head coach,” Munchak said. “He’ll be one for a long time. He has done a great job turning around an organization that hadn’t been to the playoffs in 10 years or so. Other than this weekend, I hope he has a lot of success.”
Munchak remembers Sabol: When Munchak was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001, he mentioned in his induction speech that one of his first memories of pro football was watching a weekly, hourlong highlights show produced by NFL Films. On Sunday mornings before the games came on TV, Munchak developed a ritual of watching the show with his father, Munie.
Steve Sabol, the president of NFL Films, died Tuesday of complications of brain cancer. Sabol, who served as president of NFL Films since 1985, helped his father Ed launch the company in 1962.
“I thought it was probably the best part of the week, getting to learn about the game, the guys who made the plays and the guys who made the game what it is today,” Munchak said. “That’s something that always stuck with me.”
Injury update: Linebacker Colin McCarthy had his right foot removed from a walking boot Monday night, but didn’t practice Wednesday. McCarthy’s status for Sunday’s game is undetermined.
“I’m getting better, I’m just trying to get out on the field as soon as I can,” McCarthy said. “We did a lot of work in the pool today. I haven’t had any nagging pains or that type of thing.”
Wide receivers Kenny Britt (knee) and Nate Washington (ankle) were full participants in practice. It was the first time Britt, Washington and rookie wide receiver Kendall Wright appeared together in the same practice.
“It felt like my speed was back to normal,” Britt said. “I still have a little pep in my step.”
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis on the Tennessee Titans, follow Matt Rybaltowski @CBSTitans.