It did not take long for the subject of former Lions coach Jim Schwartz to come up in Matthew Stafford’s weekly meeting with the Detroit media. The first question addressed the quarterback’s thoughts on the man who drafted him back in 2009, now the defensive coordinator for this week’s Lions foe, the Philadelphia Eagles.
Stafford reflected on the positive accomplishments the two had together in the five seasons of their careers together.
“A lot of fond memories,” Stafford said of Schwartz. “Obviously, I got drafted here by him and he was part of that process, so I appreciate him a lot for giving me the chance. We went to the playoffs for the first time (2011) in a long time (since 1999) in this franchise’s history and did a lot of good things in kind of getting us to where we are now, which I’m proud of, and I know he is, too.”
Now that he has to prepare to face Schwartz, he remains respectful of what his old coach has done with the Eagles,
“As far as going against him, I’ve played against him a couple of times since then. I’ve got a lot of respect for him as a defensive coach. His guys play extremely hard. They’re in the right spot. They play aggressive. Year-in and year-out they’re really good defenses. They’re top-echelon defenses and this one seems to be no different.”
Stafford and the Lions face the Eagles on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET in Philadelphia.
