Detroit Lions head coaching rumors already swirling

The Detroit Lions didn’t immediately fire Jim Caldwell after today’s loss to the Bengals but rumors about the future are already swirling.

The Detroit Lions still have a head coach, at least for now. Regardless, there have been plenty of calls for Jim Caldwells job in the wake of today’s disappointing loss to the Cincinnati Bengals that eliminated the Lions from playoff contention.

Given the opportunity to offer some support of their current coach, some from the top of the organization declined to comment. From MLive‘s Kyle Meinke:

"Lions owner Martha Firestone Ford and team president Rod Wood both declined to comment to reporters outside the visitors locker room at Paul Brown Stadium. Caldwell said after the game he has had no discussions with Ford or the front office about his future."

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Word got out early in the season that the Lions and Caldwell had agreed to a contract extension sometime in the recent past but that appears to not be a sign of security. Prior to the team’s game at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier this month, news broke that the extension was really only for one year with team options after that. Hardly a sign of confidence in Caldwell for the long term.

With the playoffs now out of reach and particularly the disappointing performance that led to their elimination, Caldwell has to be firmly on the hot seat. Caldwell remains in the job for now but that hasn’t stopped some rumors from starting to fly about what the future might hold.

A tweet from SiriusXM NFL Radio host & Sporting News NFL columnist Alex Marvez linked the Lions and New England Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia – a rumored change that has apparently been going on in league circles recently.

Patricia’s name is no surprise considering his ties to Lions general manager Bob Quinn from their days together in the Patriots organization. Patricia’s name was also one of 12 that made this year’s list of recommended head coaching candidates from the league’s Career Development Advisory Panel, as was Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith also relayed that there has been talk of a change.

"There’s been talk in Detroit that Lions G.M. Bob Quinn, who inherited Caldwell when he took the job two years ago, wants to hire his own guy. This loss might make Quinn pull the trigger."

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Now in his second season on the job, Quinn faces the risk of tying his tenure in the Lions front office to Caldwell if he doesn’t make a change this time around. There was reason to believe hanging on to Caldwell when Quinn took the job was the prudent move at the time but after two years of watching many of the same issues Quinn shouldn’t be hesitant to make a change even with back-to-back nine win seasons.