PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Jim Schwartz has been around the block.

Schwartz, 50, is entering his first season as the defensive coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles, but his 23rd in the NFL. And prior to that he spent four seasons with four different collegiate programs.

Schwartz says he always had to prepare his players for playing in the hostile environment of Philly.

“If you shy away from that sort of criticism, that sort of scrutiny, it goes to what I said before,” Schwartz told Angelo Cataldi and the 94WIP Morning Show on Wednesday before practice. “You’re not in it for the right reason. You’ve got to embrace all of that. I think that the best players do, the coaches do, you just embrace — you go on the road and you go play somewhere. I told players before — I’ve never played a home game here at the Linc [Lincoln Financial Field] — but even back when it was the Vet [Veterans Stadium] every team I had I always said, ‘There’s no better place to play a game than Philadelphia and there’s no better place to win.’

Listen: Jim Schwartz on the 94WIP Morning Show

“And you have to, and I told them all the time, don’t shy away from the crowd. You have to use their energy back sort of against them, but you had to prepare your teams for coming in here. And they had to understand the history of the 700 level, Santa Claus, and everything that went into it.”

Thanks in large part to his five-season head coaching stint with the Detroit Lions, Schwartz has developed a reputation for having an aggressive personality to go along with his tenacious defense. Schwartz says that aggression stays in his work life.

“If you played me in pickup hoops, every time you wanted to call a foul I’d give it to you,” Schwartz said. “I’d give you every three footer playing golf, but when you talk about my livelihood, when you talk about the way I feed my family and the way I make my living, yeah I’m going to be competitive.

“This is a different category. Our signature is on this. This is what we do for a living and of course we’re going to be competitive.”

Eagles defensive lineman Brandon Graham also joined the 94WIP Morning Show and is excited to play for Schwartz.