National Football League

CAMP SIGHTS: Detroit Lions

Published Aug. 18, 2009 5:28 a.m. ET

Alex Marvez

The road to respectability begins in the parking lot at Detroit Lions headquarters.

Behind-the-scenes ugliness from last year's winless season manifested itself here. Some players seemed more concerned about scoring a parking spot close to the building than working to avoid the NFL's first 0-16 record. Petty arguments ensued. A few Lions even began parking illegally rather than have to schlep from a little further away.

"It showed a lack of priorities and focus," Lions general manager Martin Mayhew recently told FOXSports.com. "You get bogged down in someone parking in your spot or who parked where. That's a product of not having success on the field when you start looking at other things to be mad about."

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Enter Jim Schwartz: New head coach and parking attendant.

Among his first orders of business after being hired was to assign every player a designated spot. Veterans according to seniority were given those closest to the building. Schwartz even personally timed the 75-second walk from the furthest space into the locker room just to insure the distance wasn't unreasonable when the Michigan winter begins.

Some players still had the gall to kvetch until realizing it would get them nowhere.

"A lot of guys complained about it for like half a day and then they adjusted," said Schwartz, who introduced the new parking system in March. "Now, we've got good order and you know who's parking next to you every day."

"Order" being the key word.

Parking is just one example of Schwartz's attention to detail and the little things besides Xs and Os that help build a winning team. Those elements weren't the strength of predecessor Rod Marinelli, who overestimated the ability of Detroit's players to police themselves.

"Rod was very focused on football," Lions left tackle Jeff Backus said. "He left it up to us to take the responsibility of dealing with everything else. Schwartz has very clearly mapped out how he wants things done throughout the whole building, the parking lot, everything. He doesn't want any problems to arise. There are no questions. Just do it that way."

Added kicker Jason Hanson: "He recognizes those little things you deal with as an NFL team and took charge. He didn't just throw it to the side and say, 'You're supposed to be men. Take care of it yourself.' That never works. We're a bunch of kids in the locker room."

Well-defined team rules aren't the only change in Detroit. A change in the offseason workout program resulted in a 21-percent increase in overall team strength. Following a slew of veteran acquisitions, roster turnover from 2008 could reach as high as 60 percent entering the regular season. The influx of so many new faces who didn't have to endure an 0-16 campaign has helped Detroit move past a season Backus aptly coined a "disaster."

"There's only one winner at the end of the year," said Lions middle linebacker Larry Foote, who played last season for the Super Bowl XLIII champion Pittsburgh Steelers. "What's the difference between being 0-16 and getting bounced out of the first round of the playoffs? It doesn't matter."