It took longer than expected, but the Detroit Lions have decided to retain head coach Jim Caldwell for another season.
The news comes via Tim Twentyman of the team’s official site.
Jim Caldwell to remain as #Lions coach.
— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) January 15, 2016
When the Lions hired Bob Quinn as general manager, he had the opportunity to make the decision on the head coach. In the meantime, the franchise dealt — and is still dealing — with star wide receiver Calvin Johnson announcing he is mulling retirement.
But Quinn took so long that keeping Caldwell was the best and safest option remaining. During the offseason, seven days can be an eternity. Every organization except the Tennessee Titans filled the vacancy at head coach.
At this point, if Detroit had fired Caldwell, the leading candidate on the open market would’ve been Caldwell or defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. Continuity might be overrated, but firing someone for the sake of change would be foolish.
Yes, the Lions could’ve taken a run at Tom Coughlin or Josh McDaniels, the offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots. Before joining Detroit, Quinn had worked with the Patriots since 2000. However, those were really the only non-Lions coaches worth considering.
Caldwell seemed all but officially fired when the Kansas City Chiefs thumped Detroit 45-10 in Week 8 and dropped his team to 1-7.
The brass decided to fire president Tom Lewand, general manager Martin Mayhew and offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi but kept Caldwell around. He responded by finishing 6-2 and essentially saving his job.
Now, Caldwell is back for 2016. His first order of business is convincing Megatron to stick around for another year.