Schwartz, a former coach of the Lions, believes he’s prepared for a new role.

Jim Schwartz, the former coach of the Detroit Lions, says he’s enjoying his year off and plans to return—okay, maybe next season.

“To be honest, I get to appreciate the game a lot more because there’s not much time for anything else when you’re working 100 hours a week to participate in a game on Sunday,” Schwartz said to Don Banks of si.com. “Although I’ve always been an NFL fan, you can now watch a game with some popcorn and no scouting or working involved.

“And for the first time, I’ve had a baseball season that extends past July. I love baseball, but because training camp was essentially the conclusion of the season, I never really understood anything about what went on after that.”

The Lions dismissed Schwartz following the 2013 campaign. He served as the Buffalo Bills’ defensive coordinator during the previous campaign, but new head coach Rex Ryan decided not to keep him on.

“I felt better after seeing Buffalo,” Schwartz remarked. “Getting fired never feels nice, but I was able to pick myself back up very fast and achieve some success after leaving Detroit.” Buffalo enjoyed a winning season (9-7) for the first time in ten years, despite the fact that we missed the playoffs. Returning to the role of coordinator, where you were just focused on that one side of the ball, was beneficial for me.

“Oh my goodness. We swept that division in Buffalo last year, so the only NFC North I ever won was while I was gone (from Detroit).”

Schwartz was carried off the field by his teammates following the Bills’ victory at Ford Field.

According to Banks, Schwartz is still being paid by the Lions this season and works as a coaching consultant for NFL officials, but he is prepared to return to coaching the next season, ideally in a head coaching capacity.

There will be plenty of options for a landing place, maybe including the 1-5 Tennessee Titans under Ken Whisenhunt and Schwartz’s previous employers before to the Lions. And he relocated his family from Detroit back to Nashville.

“To root against anybody, I have much too much respect for other coaches, for individuals who I’ve walked in the same shoes as them,” Schwartz remarked. “I am aware of the struggles they all face. I have experienced it firsthand.