Jim Schwartz joins Doug Pederson's staff as Eagles' DC

PHILADELPHIA -- New Eagles head coach Doug Pederson used part of his introductory news conference to announce that Jim Schwartz has been hired as his defensive coordinator.

Schwartz walked into the auditorium at the Eagles' NovaCare Complex a few minutes before Pederson and Eagles owner Jeff Lurie stepped to the podium. The former Detroit Lions head coach stood along the wall as Lurie introduced Pederson and the two men took questions from reporters.

"I'm excited to have him, his track record, his defenses that have led the National Football League," Pederson said. "I've had a chance to coach against him, and I'm glad he's on our team now. And so I'm honored to have him to be a part of my staff."

Schwartz said he planned to bring an "attack" defense to the Eagles.

"It's not a read-and-react system," Schwartz said. "It's not lateral, line of scrimmage [system]. We want to attack, we want to knock back, we want to put pressure on the quarterback."

Schwartz likely will use a 4-3 scheme as his base but said the defense will be adaptable based on the personnel.

"This is a very talented defensive group," Schwartz said. "There's talent at all three levels of this defense -- up front, linebackers and in the secondary. That made it easy to say yes.

"I've never labeled myself a 'scheme' guy or a 'system' guy. System is more of a way of operating. The guiding principle of any kind of system I've run is to let the players do what they do the best. The last thing you want to do as a coach is force-feed a scheme to a bunch of players."

Bill Davis has served as the Eagles' defensive coordinator for the past three seasons under head coach Chip Kelly, who was fired in December. The Eagles' defense was ranked 30th in the NFL in yards allowed -- 28th against the pass and last against the run.

Schwartz also interviewed for jobs with the Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars.

After spending the 2014 season as the Buffalo Bills' defensive coordinator, Schwartz was out of the league in 2015. He worked a few days a week in the NFL office, giving a coach's perspective to the league's officials.

"I drove my kids to school for the first time since they've been born," Schwartz said. "I was able to see all my kids' games. You can't buy that. I can't tell you how much that meant to me.

"What do you do when you play a game, at halftime? You go in and change your shirt, get something to drink, you get refreshed and you make some adjustments for the second half. I like to consider last year as halftime of my career. I got refreshed and made some adjustments."

Schwartz talked about climbing up the coaching ladder, from quality control assistant in Buffalo to position coach to defensive coordinator and finally head coach. Now, he said, he was able to let opportunities come to him.

"One thing I haven't done is hold the Super Bowl trophy," Schwartz said. "And that consumes me. I would want nothing more than to see Mr. Lurie hold that trophy, to see that trophy in the front of a parade in the city of Philadelphia."