Detroit Lions: Contract extension won’t keep Jim Caldwell off the hot seat
By Zac Snyder
Word eventually leaked that the Detroit Lions had extended Jim Caldwell’s contract. Thanks to a new report, no one should mistake that for job security.
Jim Caldwell has always remained tight-lipped regarding his contract situation as head coach of the Detroit Lions. Caldwell would have been in the final year of his deal but word eventually leaked early this season that the Lions and Caldwell had agreed to an extension.
Job security, right? Not quite.
For one, the situation around the extension always said otherwise. It was not the team’s intention for the news to become public and even after it became known, no one was willing to divulge the details other than that the extension was multi-year. A secret contract extension of unknown terms that the organization didn’t want to become public knowledge? Hardly a vote of confidence.
Thanks to a new report today from Ian Rapoport, we can rely on more than just reading into the situation. According to Rapoport, the multi-year tag is semantics, as it is really just an extension for 2018 with a team option beyond that. From his report on NFL.com:
"In late September, the belief was Caldwell had received a multi-year contract extension from the Lions that stretched beyond 2018, insinuating his job would remain safe after this season. However, multiple sources informed of the situation say that is not the case.In fact, Caldwell’s extension is merely for one year, sources say, with an option following next season. Rather than lock him in for the future, it simply prevents Caldwell from being a lame duck coach this season. The Lions haven’t made a decision on Caldwell’s future, nor will they until this season ends. But the contract extension he received won’t factor into it."
After making the playoffs at 9-7 a year ago, Quinn made big investments in the offensive line but the running game is still lifeless and Matthew Stafford is being pressured at a career-high rate. Signing T.J. Lang and Rick Wagner remain good moves on paper, setting up the coaching staff to take the fall for the failures of the unit.
It’s no secret that Lions owner Martha Ford is a big fan of Jim Caldwell. Some might point to that as a sign of security but that ignores the changes to the organization since Mrs. Ford took over as primary owner following the death of William Clay Ford. Loyalty was more of a weakness than a strength under Mr. Ford but Mrs. Ford has been more aggressive pushing for changes aimed at increasing the team’s competitiveness.
Given Caldwell a token extension preventing him from being a lame duck coach is the kind of thing an owner does for a well-liked coach. Keeping Caldwell to the detriment of the team is not.
As Rapoport notes, no decision has been made yet. The Lions are still in the playoff hunt, although those dreams are hanging on by a thread, and Bob Quinn and Rod Wood declined the opportunity to comment on Caldwell’s future before today’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
If the Lions run the table and make the playoffs, there is a cast to be made for Caldwell to keep his job. That’s especially true if the Lions were to get in and win a playoff game. If the Lions struggle down the stretch, the contract extension won’t be in the way of making a change.