Jim Caldwell: Success in Detroit was impossible. Why? Where to go now?
By Bruce Walker
You see, Caldwell wants us to believe that he is above all, stable. Nothing bothers him. Nothing upsets him. He tells us that this game is the same as the next game. It’s just the next game on the schedule. He has no need for emotion. There is no place for expression.
No sense of urgency.
Caldwell comes across at first glance as unperturbed and unemotional. He speaks with generalities and platitudes. When pressed on a specific problem, he defers and deflects.
Eventually, those words lose their substance and believability.
He will speak words that appear on the surface to acknowledge responsibility with an issue, such as having too few men on the field at a critical point in the game, but then has the same issue reoccur the very next week.
Problem identified. Cause unidentified. Problem unsolved.
Every year, Caldwell vows that the Lions will establish the run and stop the run. Every year they don’t. In my article about Matthew Stafford’s contract, I showed how vital it is to have a run game and a good defense. The Lions, again this year, have neither. With that in mind, if the team were to reach the playoffs, it is nearly certain that they would lose their first game and go home anyway.
The way that Caldwell relates—especially to the media— makes me think that he really has no clue as to what to do to fix any problem. He appears lost. He hides behind his stoicism and stories and sayings without revealing anything of substance. That way nobody can see what is really going on. He does not know what to do to fix the problems.
Stale mediocre failures continue to define the end of the Lions seasons.
Caldwell resembles New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick in the manner that he interacts with the media but without the sarcasm. Caldwell withholds information like state secrets. Too bad the results are not the same. Nor is the football IQ. Or the problem-solving skills. Or the success.
This is not to say in any way that he is a bad man. To the best of my knowledge, I believe that Jim Caldwell is honorable, honest and decent. Unfortunately, the Detroit Lions need more than that from their head coach.
Jim Schwartz personified an extreme emotional investment in the head coaching role. That intensity had great value on the football field. It begat many critical problems there as well.
Jim Caldwell personifies the opposite extreme. A complete lack of emotional intensity and, especially when necessary, a sense of urgency.
Extremes leave you vulnerable. What the Detroit Lions need is their next head coach to be able to exemplify the positive traits of both drastic contrasts and minimize the negative traits of each.
The Lions do need stability. And urgency. They need to think smart, play smart. They must develop the ability to adapt and overcome, to quickly identify needs and problems and rectify discovered issues decisively.
Next: Lions head coaching rumors already swirling
What do the Detroit Lions need form their next head coach? They need smart, stable, and urgent. They need balance.