Late in games and late in seasons, times are often tough for coaches of the Detroit Lions. Extreme behavior can be expected. But cussing out the fans is never a good thing.
That appears to have happened Sunday as the Lions were en route to a 23-20 loss to the Giants and elimination from the playoffs for yet another year.
Jeff Seidel of the Free Press writes that as booing swelled in the last quarter-minute at Ford Field, with the two teams tied, coach Jim Schwartz snapped.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Lions were playing for overtime against the New York Giants, instead of trying to go for the win in the last 23 seconds.
And the fans were booing.
The decibel level was spiking, and the pressure was building, and Schwartz lost it. He lost his cool. On a day when the Lions lost any chance of the playoffs. On a day when Schwartz’s future might have been sealed.
Instead of coaching his team at that moment, instead of going over strategies, instead of talking to his assistant coaches, instead of doing something to actually help his team win, instead of doing something that really great coaches do — like anything but this — Schwartz started screaming toward the fans.
