The Lions watched from the sidelines as Justin Tucker‘s 61-yard game-winning boot sent them falling down the NFC North standings and potentially out of the playoff picture altogether. And that might mean the end of Jim Schwartz‘s run in Detroit.
Schwartz, who led the Lions to the playoffs just once in his first four seasons, is very much on the hot seat in Detroit right now, and his job is apparently hinging on a return to the postseason this year, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
After Monday night’s loss to the Ravens, the Lions are now 7-7 on the season, having lost four of their past five games, and in third place in the division, behind both the Bears (8-6) and Packers (7-6-1). With games against the lowly Giants and Vikings left on the schedule, the Lions could very well wind up 9-7 on the season, but they would still need quite a bit of help from their divisional foes in order to sneak into the postseason.
Schwartz signed a three-year extension after the 2011 season — the Lions’ only trip to the playoffs in the last 15 years — that is slated to keep him in Detroit through the 2015 season. However, an unsuccessful end to this season will likely see him looking for work elsewhere come January.
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