RE> largemouths and head first swallowing.
Well I don't know. Good question.
I haven't actually read that paper in a few years now. But--as I recall--he later on talks about piscivores in the general case (any critter that eats fish).
I have a hunch all piscivores swallow head first, because of nasty pectoral fins that slant and fold down one way and puncture the other way.