Joe Schmidt, the Detroit Lions Hall of Famer who played a pioneering role in the emergence of pro football’s glamorous middle linebacker spot while starring on two league championship teams in the 1950s, died on Wednesday in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. He was 92.

His daughter Kerry Schmidt confirmed his death.

Schmidt, who played for 13 seasons with the Lions and later served as their head coach, was renowned for anticipating the opposing team’s next play, chasing down running backs, defending against passes and tackling with hard-hitting gusto.

And as the defensive signal-caller, he reflected a tidal shift in pro football.

Schmidt became a key figure on the Lions’ defense when they were among the N.F.L. teams adopting a new defensive scheme to counter the growing emphasis on the passing game. The team used four down linemen, three linebackers and four defensive backs in place of the customary five or six linemen up front and no more than two linebackers.

“Little by little, the offense dictated changes on defense,” Schmidt told The New York Times in 2001, recalling that when he arrived in the N.F.L., “the middle was open.”

“No one was there to stop the pass over the middle,” he said.

“The hardest part was learning to play a position that had not existed,” he added. “There was no position coach. They just tell you what to do and determine how to get it done. How to handle blockers, how to flow with the play, all those things you had to pick up on your own.”

Schmidt was named to 10 Pro Bowls, selected as a first-team All-Pro eight times and chosen for the N.F.L.’s all-decade team for the 1950s.