Tim Twentyman: Lions Insider

Lions coach does a different type of head banging

Allen Park -- If only Lions coach Jim Schwartz could sing.

If he could -- he admits he can't -- it's doubtful he'd be in Detroit coaching the Lions.

"If I could sing, my hair would be long, and I'd be in some small club in Western Ontario, sitting there trying to find a gig tonight," he said in a WRIF interview in May.

Don't let the clean-cut appearance and Georgetown economics degree fool you. Schwartz is a metalhead. Plain and simple.

His love of metal has become somewhat of a pop-culture phenomenon since his arrival in Detroit earlier this year from Tennessee.

Schwartz is so comfortable with the subject, he talked heavy metal for 90 minutes in a studio appearance on the "Mike in the Morning" show on WRIF 101.1 in May.

"Oh, man, I had one of the original mullets -- 1984 or so," Schwartz, 42, told host Mike Clark. "I spent a lot of money on hair gel. And I tell you what, I had a lot of sore necks from head banging, too."

Schwartz makes a weekly appearance on the "Jay and Bill" show on WXYT 97.1 every Tuesday morning, and the interview always ends with Schwartz and co-host Bill McAllister discussing their favorite heavy metal bands.

"It really started in Nashville. Nashville is not just a country music town," Schwartz said. "There are a lot of recording studios. A lot of people come to town there. Knowing people in record companies and people in bands and stuff like that, it sort of started there and has carried over here. It's one of the perks of the job."

Schwartz's Detroit office is littered with signed guitars and music memorabilia he's acquired over the years.

His love affair with heavy metal started his freshman and sophomore years at Mount Saint Joseph High, an all-male Catholic school outside of Baltimore.

"My parents were into 50's music and stuff like that," Schwartz said. "My family is not very musical. We didn't grow up around a lot of music, it was just something that developed in high school."

Schwartz has three young children, and said he's failed, so far, to influence them into liking his particular taste in music up to this point. He isn't giving up yet.

"If my kids are around, we are listening to Taylor Swift or the Jonas Brothers or one of those things. I get overruled on the TV and the stereo when I'm at home," he said. "But when I'm around the office or in the car or working out, that's when that stuff rolls a little bit more."

Streak continues

Players looking to be named NFL player of the week apparently need only play the Lions.

In each of their three losses, the Lions have enabled an offensive player (QB Drew Brees , New Orleans), a defensive player (LB Chad Greenway , Minnesota) and a special teams player (WR Johnny Knox , Chicago) to be named player of the week.

Pretty in pink

Calvin Johnson , Larry Foote , Kevin Smith and Louis Delmas will wear pink cleats, pink gloves or both against Pittsburgh on Sunday in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Backus is a good guy

Offensive tackle Jeff Backus was selected as the Lions' 2009 recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award, which recognizes men of courage in the NFL. The East Side Athletic Club of Baltimore presents the award annually to an individual from each of the league's 32 teams. Backus will be honored locally at the Detroit Lions Courage House Dinner at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Ford Field.

ttwentyman@detnews.com