The Lions settled on their new head coach on Tuesday, hiring Jim Caldwell to take over the job that opened when Jim Schwartz was fired after the end of the regular season.
The team announced that they will formally introduce Caldwell at a 4 p.m. ET press conference on Wednesday and team owner William Clay Ford released a statement about the hiring on Tuesday afternoon.
“On behalf on my entire family, I want to express how thrilled we are with the appointment of Jim Caldwell as our new head coach,” Ford said. “We believe Jim is the right man to lead our team and deliver a championship to our fans. I also want to commend [team president] Tom [Lewand] and [General Manager] Martin [Mayhew] on the thoroughness of the coaching search. We had a very specific plan and profile for our next head coach, and I am convinced that we found that man in Jim Caldwell.”
That specific profile is outlined on the team’s website, which highlights Caldwell’s experience as a head coach with a background on the offensive side of the ball. There are also references to the ringing endorsement of Caldwell given by Tony Dungy, who called Caldwell a “great match” for a team talented enough to go to the Super Bowl.