Jim Schwartz was hired by Eagles head coach Doug Pederson as the defensive coordinator in the 2016 offseason and came to Philadelphia with 22 years of NFL coaching experience, including five years as the head coach of the Detroit Lions (2009-13).
Jim Schwartz was hired by Eagles head coach Doug Pederson in the 2016 offseason and came to Philadelphia with 22 years of NFL coaching experience, including five years as the head coach of the Detroit Lions (2009-13).
During Philadelphia’s 2017 Super Bowl LII-winning campaign, Schwartz led an Eagles defense that finished No. 1 overall against the run (79.2 ypg), produced the fourth-most takeaways in the league (31) and ranked third in third-down defense (32.2%). The Eagles run defense ranked first in the league from Weeks 6-17 and gave up just seven total rushing touchdowns on the year, which tied with the 2008 defense for the fewest rushing touchdowns surrendered by an Eagles defense since 2002. In total, Philadelphia’s defense gave up 31 touchdowns on the season, which marks the fewest touchdowns surrendered by an Eagles defense since 2008 (26).
In 2016, Schwartz’s first season with the team, he guided the Eagles’ transition from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defense and oversaw a defensive front that featured Pro Bowl DT Fletcher Cox and second-team All-Pro Brandon Graham. In addition to Cox and Graham’s accolades, second-year linebacker Jordan Hicks led all NFL linebackers with five interceptions. Under Schwartz’s direction, the Eagles defense finished third in the NFL in red zone defense (45.1 pct.).
In his lone season with the Buffalo Bills (2014), Schwartz directed a Bills defense that allowed the second-fewest points in the NFL (16.9 points per game), notched a league-high 54 sacks, held opponents to a league-best 33.2 percent third-down conversion rate and allowed the second-lowest cumulative quarterback rating (74.5). Schwartz also tutored a talented Bills defensive line that saw Mario Williams (14.5), Marcell Dareus (10.0) and Jerry Hughes (10.0) set career highs in sacks, with Dareus, Williams and DT Kyle Williams earning Pro Bowl honors.
Schwartz earned his first head coaching job in 2009, when he was hired by Detroit after the team finished 0-16 in 2008. Detroit drafted QB Matthew Stafford in Schwartz’s first offseason as the head coach and the team saw steady improvement under his direction over the next three seasons. After going 2-14 in his first year as head coach, Schwartz improved the Lions to 6-10 in 2010 and then guided the team to its first playoff appearance since 1999 when he coached Detroit to a 10-6 record in 2011.
In 2013, Detroit’s defense led the league in opponent third-down conversion rate (30.3) and boasted the NFL’s second-best red zone defense (161 points allowed and 38.1 pct. TD efficiency).
Schwartz’s 2011 Lions playoff team recorded 34 total takeaways, which was tied for the third-highest mark in the NFL, including a league-leading and franchise-record seven return touchdowns (five INTs, two fumbles). That year’s defensive unit also finished third in the NFL in third-down conversion rate (67.3 pct.). Led by DE Cliff Avril and DT Ndamukong Suh, Detroit’s 2011 defensive line accounted for 35 sacks, the fourth-most by a defensive line that season.
The Lions selected Suh in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft to anchor Detroit’s defensive line and Schwartz was instrumental in the immediate success and development of the All-Pro DT, as Suh garnered Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in addition to being named APAll-Pro and earning a trip to the Pro Bowl in his first year in the league.
Prior to arriving in Detroit, Schwartz spent 10 years with the Tennessee Titans, serving as the team’s defensive coordinator from 2001-08 under head coach Jeff Fisher. During Schwartz’s time with Tennessee, the Titans made an appearance in Super Bowl XXXIV, played in two AFC Championship Games, captured three division titles and earned six playoff berths.
In Schwartz’s eight-year run as Tennessee’s defensive coordinator, Titans defenses boasted Pro Bowlers LB Keith Bulluck, DE Kevin Carter, CB Cortland Finnegan, DT Albert
Haynesworth, S Chris Hope, DE Jevon Kearse and DE Kyle Vanden Bosch.
From 2007-08, Schwartz’s final two seasons with Tennessee, the Titans accumulated a 23-9 record in the regular season, including a league-best 13-3 mark in 2008. In those two seasons combined, Tennessee’s defense finished fifth in sacks (84), third in interceptions (42) and fourth in forced fumbles (39). Also during that span, the Titans surrendered the second-fewest points in the NFL (531) and the fourth-fewest total yards in the league (9,363).
Before taking over as defensive coordinator, Schwartz served as Tennessee’s linebackers and third-down package coach in 2000. That season, the Titans boasted the league’s top third-down defense, as the unit allowed just a 30.8 percent conversion rate.
Schwartz was originally hired by the Titans in 1999 as a defensive assistant after serving in the same capacity for the Baltimore Ravens from 1996-98.
After coaching in the college ranks for four years from 1989-1992, Schwartz entered the NFL in 1993 as a college/pro scout for the Cleveland Browns. While in Cleveland, he worked with then-Browns head coach Bill Belichick and members of the Cleveland
personnel department, including George Kokinis, Michael Lombardi, Ozzie Newsome, Scott Pioli and Phil Savage.
A native of Baltimore, MD, Schwartz attended Georgetown University, where he was a four-year letterwinner at linebacker and earned his degree in economics. In 1988, Schwartz was named a team captain for the Hoyas and earned Division III CoSIDA/GTE Academic All-America and All-America honors.
Schwartz and his wife, Kathy, have three children: Christian, Allison and Maria.
