In March, Lions coach Jim Caldwell was asked about his lack of a contract beyond the 2017 season and he said he wasn’t worried about it.
Sean McDonough and Jon Gruden did some worrying about it for him during ESPN’s broadcast of Detroit’s win over the Giants on Monday night, pointing out that it’s unusual for a coach who has taken his team to the playoffs twice in the last three years to be in that position. On Tuesday, Caldwell said he heard about the comments but that his position on his contract hasn’t changed over the last six months.
“I heard a little buzz about it, but it’s not important,” Caldwell said, via the Detroit News. “Just like I’ve said before, I’ll say it a thousand times, I’ve told you guys I’ll answer it the same way now and you ask me eight weeks down the road, I’m only concerned about a couple things — It’s my men and my mission. And our mission is to win. Everything else will take care of itself. And they aren’t worried about anything else other than that. So, that’s our focus.”
If you’re looking for reasons why the coach has not gotten an extension, not being hired by General Manager Bob Quinn and failing to win a game in either playoff appearance come to mind. Despite those things, it’s hard to disagree with Caldwell’s assessment that all will work out if the team’s 2-0 start is a harbinger of how the year will play out.