No longer will TWFE use "FIRE KWAN!" as a rallying cry

Written by Al Beaton | 08 January 2010

I've been using "FIRE KWAN!" as a catch-all for much of what ails the Detroit Lions for a good 3 years. But you'll never hear "FIRE KWAN!" in these parts again.

Things have changed...for the better. My cries in the internet wilderness have finally been heard!

Via John Niyo at the News:

The Lions have made their first significant move of the offseason, firing special teams coordinator Stan Kwan.

The team didn't confirm the move, but Kwan told The Detroit News late Friday afternoon he'd received the news earlier in the day from head coach Jim Schwartz.

It's a bittersweet day. Kwan's gone, but I no longer have a use for this picture ...

I shouldn't be happy over someone losing their well compensated gig. But the sad results on the field spoke for themselves, making a little schadenfreude more than appropriate.

Sometimes it pays to tilt at those windmills...though Kwan himself greatly helped the anti-Kwan sentiment grow.  He was so inept at his job, special teams having become a running joke, the Lions, in good conscience, could no longer keep him on as a coach, in any capacity. Not if they wanted to be taken even remotely seriously by the fan base.

Kwan didn't deserve to come back for this past season. The past few seasons, in fact. Inexplicably, Jim Schwartz kept him on staff. It was a decision he soon regretted.

Kwan inexplicably hung on for 10 years with the Lions' organization, the past 3 as special teams coach. He was the epitome of the Peter Principle, having risen to his level of incompetence. Hell, it was obvious Kwan had likely risen far above his level of incompetence, as the Lions are just that kind of organization.

He wasn't a very good coach, but had the survivability instinct of a cockroach.  More so than Matt Millen's, which is impressive in it's own way. It takes a special kind of talent to survive so many regime changes, especially during the worst stretch in team, let alone NFL, history.

Kwan deserved to lose his job. When "survivability" is all you bring to the table, you aren't the sort of talent the Detroit Lions need to have on their coaching staff.