The Lions won't have to wait to hire Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz if they want him as their next head coach.

Schwartz, who interviewed last week during Tennessee's first-round playoff bye, is eligible to be hired for any head-coaching vacancy now that the Titans have been eliminated from the playoffs. Had Tennessee beat Baltimore yesterday, teams would have had to wait until the Titans' postseason was over to offer Schwartz a job.

So far, it's my understanding that Schwartz has only interviewed with the Lions. The Browns were granted permission to speak with the 42-year-old assistant, but canceled due to scheduling problems. The Rams also might be interested in Schwartz, but have not moved to interview him yet. Last year, Schwartz was a candidate for jobs in Miami, Washington and Atlanta, where new Rams general manager Billy Devaney was on the search committee.

As I pointed out in a blog posting a couple days ago, anecdotal evidence suggests the earlier a team makes a hire in the offseason the more chance that coach has of success. (In 2006, the five coaches hired before Rod Marinelli all made the playoffs. Marinelli plus two of the four coaches hired after him already have been fired.)

If the Lions are comfortable with their pool of candidates – Schwartz, Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, Dolphins assistant head coach Todd Bowles, etc. – there's no sense waiting to interview a candidate like Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, a hot name who might prefer another job (Jets, Rams) but who might not be able to accept any position until February.

Also, NFL.com reported that veteran executives Phil Savage (ex-Browns GM) and Shack Harris (former VP of player personnel with the Jaguars) have been contacted about joining the Lions' front office. I mentioned Harris as a possibility before when I thought Brian Billick was a candidate to be head coach. I still think he (and Savage, for that matter) would make a great addition for their experience dealing with personnel matters. Harris was a part of building winners in Baltimore and Jacksonville. He helped uncover late-round gems in both places and helped build two pretty good defenses. If he's interested, the Lions should snap him up.