Jim Caldwell to remain Lions head coach

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The Lions will not be looking for a new head coach.

The team announced Friday morning that Jim Caldwell will return for a third season on the sideline. A decision about Caldwell’s future was put on hold until the team found a new General Manager and that search concluded with the hiring of Bob Quinn last week. There were reports that Caldwell’s job was in danger after that move, but there was no fire behind that smoke.

“After spending a significant amount of time together, it is clear that our football philosophies are very similar,” Quinn said. “It’s clear to me that this team believes in him and responds positively to his leadership.”

Caldwell is 18-14 in two years with the Lions. He took the team to the playoffs in his first season, but looked to be in serious trouble when the Lions broke from the gate with seven losses in their first eight games in 2015. They closed the year by winning six of eight games, however, and that surely helped make the decision to go with stability over starting over on the sideline.

53 responses to “Jim Caldwell to remain Lions head coach

  1. Thank goodness. Now the Fritz Pollard Alliance, John Wooten and Stephen A. Smith won’t bitch….

  2. Good move.

    I don’t think Caldwell is anything special, but maintaining consistency will be good for the team, and it also means that the Lions can keep Cooter, who was able to get Stafford back to playing like a franchise QB. If he can continue to do that, that franchise will be back on it’s feet in no time.

  3. Hardest schedule the first 6 games of the season, I like this decision and this helps tip the scale towards Calvin coming back this season. Excited to see us start out next season with Jim Bob running the O, and it looks like we will keep Austin another year on D. Been to the playoffs two out of the past four seasons should’ve been 3/4. Think we are really close, one more offseason and an easier schedule I think we will be in a good spot.

  4. Smart move actually. Don’t be the browns or my Niners about things. Had Cooter been calling the plays all year, this team might still be alive.

  5. Anybody else feel like Caldwell survived because the DC didn’t get nabbed up for an HC job elsewhere? I kind of wish they’d promote him and bounce that “dead behind the eyes, agape mouthed” Caldwell from the sidelines.

    The Lions “turnaround” was against the weakest part of their schedule. They beat ONE playoff team last year, and that was when the Packers were scuffling. The lost to many non-playoff teams. This was supposed to be a competitive team coming into the year. They could have beat 2 more playoff teams (SEA and GB) if not for the coach not knowing the rules/ not knowing the situation. He had a bad season as a head coach outside of the record even.

    As a Lions fan, I don’t like this decision. I rarely like their decisions. However, my feelings don’t matter at all. My argument for Caldwell’s removal, doesn’t matter at all. There’s no thought or foresight in the organization. There never has been. I was hoping Quinn would change that.

  6. He has one year to prove that he is a quality coach. Calvin most likely will stay and hopefully with Cooter and a good offensive line coach we will be able to get a running game going.

    Now a pressing issue. Get players in the draft 1 and 2 round who and compete their first year and not take 5 years to develop.

  7. It’s the smart move for at least one more year.

    Whatever was broke, was fixed mid-season.

  8. This is a good move.
    Caldwell made the one move he needed to for making this a decent (under the circumstances) season. He fired Lombardi. Even last year as we went 11-5 our offense was the lowest scoring it had been in ages, but people chalked it up to our defense being so good and not needing the points. Lombardi was horrible from day 1 and the minute we fire him our offense starts playing significantly better. I don’t include the London game against the Chiefs defense since, well, their defense was locked in and Cooter just got the job. Take away GB’s hail mary and we’re 7-1 once he took over and Stafford’s stats were terrific.

    With him, Cooter and Austin next year and a better schedule we should do pretty good. Of course shi* goes out the window if Calvin retires.

  9. Not a surprise. But no, people.. he did not “deserve” another year. That’s laughable.. and if you have eyes (and know anything about the game) you know that’s a fact. Just goes to show you what kind of “candidates” were out there- mostly guys looking for their first gig. It’ll be interesting to see how long he lasts. I’ll bet anything he’s not the Lions’ head coach at the start of the 2017 season, though!! As I’ve said before.. Nice guy!!.. you could certainly do worse! Not a head coach, though..

  10. Translation: McDaniels’ people let the Lions know he wasn’t interested.

    Actually, this was pretty professionally done by the Lions. They would have considered McDaniels but when that didn’t go through they saw continuity as preferable to picking somebody out of the scraps left on the table at this date.

  11. I heard Lombardi was Mayhew’s guy and Caldwell had little control over his employment. That could explain why Caldwell told reporters no changes were being considered when they were 1-6, and came back two hours later to say well, they’d reevaluated things and Lombardi was fired. I’m guessing that came from the Fords, who broomed Mayhew one week later. And it could be why Caldwell is not being held liable for the disastrous start.

  12. The 2015 Lions played 8 games against 6 playoff teams (MIN-twice, GB-twice, KC, DEN, SEA, ARI). Their record in those games?

    1-7.

    The supposed “turnaround” once Cooter got promoted was a 6-2 homestretch where the Lions played only one team with a winning record (a split with the Pack). Their remaining opponents in the last 8 weeks: STL, PHI, OAK, NO, SF, CHI (combined 2015 record of 39-57).

    I hate that they are keeping the CaldwellBot. He can beat the dregs of the league but can’t sniff a win against a truly quality opponent.

    Same old Lions.

  13. Jim Caldwell is the Jeff Fisher of the North. How they both keep their jobs is beyond me.

    Each made 1 superbowl appearance and then proceed to coach sub-par seasons year after year. Marty Schottenheimer goes 14-2 and gets canned. Makes no sense.

  14. Good decision for Caldwell. He’s had one bad half-season and three good ones. It’s significant that the worst wasn’t the last. He also gets the chance to work with a different front office, unlike Pagano, who’ll be burdened once again by Grigson.

    Good move for Quinn. This guy won’t look at the field coach as his subordinate. He’ll see his job as working wit the field coach to accommodate the best interests of the team. That’s his background. He won’t be driven by a personal hunger for power.

    Good situation for the players. They responded well to Caldwell, and they showed much more self-discipline than Lions teams under Schwartz.

    Bad decision for Florio. One fewer ticket sold to his coaching carousel.

  15. floriosnuts says:
    Jan 15, 2016 10:39 AM
    That sound you just heard was the rest of the NFC North jumping for joy.
    =======

    Which NFC North teams would that be?

    The Bears, whom the Lions beat both times they faced them this season?

    The Packers, who lost to Lions this year as well?

  16. I don’t know if Caldwell is a good coach or not, but one thing is for sure, firing and hiring head coaches every 2-3 years is a recipe for mediocrity.

    Besides, there isn’t really a better alternative out there at the moment.

  17. There is good news here: At least Detroit is virtually guaranteed of a high draft pick next year. This guy is the best there is at that. Just ask Colts fans.

  18. Consistency is key.

    Best way to retain the coordinators everyone seems to love, best way to retain Megatron. Really not much downside to seeing him another year.

    Once you break the seal on firing coaches every two years it becomes a habit. The Lions have been bad historically but not because they haven’t been loyal and given coaches a fair shake. That’s what separates their type of bad from that of the new Browns.

  19. Smart move by Detroit. Fix the front office before you start changing coaches. Endless churn never benefits a team.

  20. Good, give the man at least another year. His resume isn’t that bad, not sure why he gets so much hate.

  21. He gets to keep his job because Tony Dungy whined on his behalf about black coaches not getting enough opportunity, because, Heavin forbid, we evolve as human beings past this black/white stuff and evaluate coaches based on their FOOTBALL COMPETENCY.

    Which, by the way, Caldwell doesn’t seem to have much of.

  22. Not a lions fans but after that Hail Mary debacle against Green Bay, when his players were clearly out of position/confused and the coaches failed to act, I would think fans would have seen enough of Jim Caldwell.

    Good luck Detroit fans.

  23. Gotta love the people who probably didn’t watch a Lions game all year but think they know who should be coaching the team. And never mind that he has a winning record as our coach it was such a bad decision to retain him. My absolute favorite though is you people who are obsessed with his facial expressions. Such original comments I’ve never heard anything like that until today. Keep that brilliant original material coming.

  24. I have ambivalent feelings about the retention of Caldwell. He’s not a very good game manager and has cost the Lions wins.

    However, I trust Quinn’s judgment and I believe he sees the value of Caldwell in this transitional phase of the team. As a brand new GM, Quinn obviously, at least in the short term, would like a veteran head coach. Caldwell is already in place, a number of players vouch for him, and Mrs. Ford likes him. Caldwell’s lucky.

    It appears with the hiring of Kyle O’Brien that Quinn’s first order of business will be to improve the scouting/talent evaluation area. With ten selections, this upcoming draft should be very interesting.

  25. This makes sense to me. You get the front office squared away and then you take a look at the coaching staff. Regardless of the coach, the Lions aren’t going to win it all next year. And the list of candidates remaining is far from compelling. Maybe Jim Bob takes the reigns after next year.

  26. The guy did lead them to 11 wins in 2014, and I think they won the bulk of their games (albeit against lousy teams) toward the end of this season. Combine that with the benefits of continuity, the lack of real quality head coaching talent presently available, and retaining Caldwell seems to make sense.

  27. This makes sense to me. You get the front office squared away and then you take a look at the coaching staff. Regardless of the coach, the Lions aren’t going to win it all next year. And the list of candidates remaining is far from compelling. Maybe Jim Bob takes the reigns after next year.

    ______________________________________

    Finally a Lions fan with some sense.

    LoLions!!!

  28. That the announcement was made after they knew that Austin was not going anywhere. They really do not want to keep Caldwell, but that is the only way to keep Cooter and Austin on the team and keep things rolling.

  29. I haven’t been a huge Jim Caldwell fan ever since the Colts tanked their last 2 games several years ago after being 14-0. Maybe losing the Super Bowl that season was karma for doing that.

  30. Pointy Williams says:
    Jan 15, 2016 9:49 AM

    Not a surprise. But no, people.. he did not “deserve” another year. That’s laughable.. and if you have eyes (and know anything about the game) you know that’s a fact. Just goes to show you what kind of “candidates” were out there- mostly guys looking for their first gig. It’ll be interesting to see how long he lasts. I’ll bet anything he’s not the Lions’ head coach at the start of the 2017 season, though!! As I’ve said before.. Nice guy!!.. you could certainly do worse! Not a head coach, though..
    _________________________

    My sentiments exactly. At least Caldwell will assist a brand new GM through a transitional period. But I bet he’s gone after next season. Too many bad decisions from a terrible game manager.

  31. In the words of Harry ” just when I thought you couldn’t do anything dumber…..” Not a wise choice as a new Gm if your looking to build a good strong team. They’ll regress to playing flag football come opening week and we’ll hear the same bs. I hate the fords. After 30 years I’m actually thinking about jumping ship due to the garbage I’m subjected to with the terrible lions. But it will always be the same with the curse of the fords treating a football team as their used car that’s been under water and totaled. They’ll still sell it as new.

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