Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell led his team to a surprising nine-win campaign and a spot in the NFC Playoffs this year. It came less than a calendar year after many figured Caldwell himself would be fired following sweeping changes within the Lions’ organization.
So it would stand to reason that Caldwell’s job might finally be safe after he’s spent the past few seasons on the hot seat. Though, following three consecutive losses to close out the season, that might not be the case.
Caldwell himself refused to comment on whether the Lions’ brass has talked to him about his job.
“Just to be direct, I wouldn’t tell you if they did, because I’m not focused in on that,” Caldwell said, via the Detroit Free Press.
In addition to this, first-year Lions general manager Bob Quinn has refused to say whether Caldwell’s job is safe (via Pro Football Talk).
There’s most definitely a lot of moving parts to this. Quinn made the decision to retain Caldwell rather than bringing on his own guy after he was hired from the New England Patriots last January.
That seemed to be a vote of confidence in Caldwell’s direction, especially considering general mangers like to hire their own head coaches. Short of the Lions continuing to struggle this season, most figured Caldwell himself wouldn’t be on the hot seat.
The other dynamic to look at here is that Detroit might just be a sought-after job following the improvement the team saw on both sides of the ball this season. Not only did Matthew Stafford progress at a rapid clip, the team’s young defense stepped it up big time. That could make the Lions a more attractive destination.
Either way we put it, the signals coming from Detroit seem to suggest that Caldwell’s job could very well be on the line Saturday night against the Seattle Seahawks. This is surely something to keep tabs on.