Detroit Lions: The case for keeping Jim Caldwell

Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell finds himself on the hot seat once again, but is the team really better off moving in another direction?

Black Monday is looming.

Few things are colder than Michigan in late December, yet somehow Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell once again finds himself roasting on the hot seat.

The Lions (8-7) were eliminated from playoff contention in a season where many expected the franchise to handedly win the NFC North title with Aaron Rodgers shelved for most of the year. The most recent loss to the Cincinnati Bengals may prove to be the final nail in Caldwell’s coffin.

An up and down 2017 mired with excruciating losses, close wins against bad teams, and woefully slow starts to many games has Caldwell in the crosshairs. Things heated up just two weeks ago when details of last year’s contract extension leaked, revealing that the embattled head coach has little security past this season.

Related Story: Is Jim Caldwell's fate already sealed?

Fans have been and continue to call for Caldwell’s ouster since the middle of the 2015-2016 season, when he survived the culling of the front office herd amidst a dismal 1-7 start.

It seems that the fan base never warmed up to the idea of Caldwell, myself included. I was strongly against the dismissal of Jim Schwartz, whose firing signaled that the Lions committed to starting all over again.

After a long look at the silver (and blue) lining of the decision, one name that generated excitement was Ken Whisenhunt. Alas, in typical Lions fashion, the former Arizona Cardinals head coach rebuffed the team’s offer, and the organization seemed to settle for – not select – Jim Caldwell.

There are plenty of reasons not to like Caldwell as a figure. His quizzical expressions, his mundane sense of enthusiasm on the sidelines, and his evasiveness of the status of injured players are all maddening.

There are also plenty of reasons not to like Caldwell as a head coach. He has his share of head-scratching moments when it comes to clock management, deciding to challenge a play (or not challenge a play), or properly defending against a Hail Mary. It is important to remember, however, that no head coach is without their share of in-game blunders.

In spite of the negatives, Jim Caldwell is the right head coach for the Detroit Lions.

His first season with the team was an enormous success. The Lions finished 11-5 with a soul-crushing loss to the Dallas Cowboys. A playoff appearance with a top-five defense is an easy way to win over the fan base, but I warmed up to the idea of Caldwell in the following year.

In my opinion, the way to judge a head coach’s impact on a team is to see how the team responds to adversity. Do they rally around him? Or do they simply give up?

The lackluster start to the 2015-2016 campaign was a disaster on many levels. The Lions, high on expectations yet low in deliverance, started the year 1-7. The team arguably looked worse than their record indicated.

Team President Tom Lewand and General Manager Martin Mayhew were relieved of their duties. Offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi was sent packing one week prior. The stage was set for a complete and utter collapse.

In the NFL, where the risk of injury means risk to a player’s future, it would have been reasonable to expect most of the roster to pack it in and surrender. After all, why compete at the highest level in a lost season?

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

When a team believes in its head coach, they continue to fight. That is precisely what happened during the rest of that season. The team won six of their final eight games, including an improbable win against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers at Lambeau Field – a feat the team had not accomplished in 24 straight years.

Just how bad does it look when the players do not respect the man chosen to lead them?

For a point of reference, look no further than the New York Giants, a team that many predicted would win the NFC East and contend for the championship.

The Giants were loaded with talent and expectations coming off an 11-5 season in 2016. The wheels sure did come off quickly for Ben McAdoo. A team poised for a Super Bowl run simply stopped playing for their head coach.

Just weeks into the season, McAdoo suspended one player after a verbal altercation, and later had to dodge reports of anonymous players stating that he lost the locker room. The charade continued this week, even after a coaching change, with Landon Collins calling teammate Eli Apple a cancer during an interview. Perhaps what Collins said has some truth, given that the Giants suspended Apple for the remainder of the season. It’s still an abnormally high level of dysfunction for a football team.

Has infighting or anything like it ever been an issue with Jim Caldwell?

The answer is no, and it is because every player has bought into what Caldwell is selling. That’s the reason why  players dodge questions about their own injuries every week. That’s the reason why no matter how slow they start – in a particular game or in a season – they fight until the bitter end.

It’s also the reason tight end Eric Ebron, whose tenure in Detroit has been rocky, could not help but associate his head coach with David Cutcliffe’s quote about how coaches earn respect. For what it’s worth, Nevin Lawson echoed the sentiment.

That type of leadership and acceptance is rare, and I believe that General Manager Bob Quinn realizes it.

STABILITY

Quinn comes from the New England Patriots. Among the many things that franchise values as part of the “Patriot Way” is stability. Change for the sake of change is not necessarily a winning strategy.

Prior to last season, Quinn met with Caldwell several times. Under no obligation to retain the head coach, Quinn decided that keeping Caldwell was in the team’s best interest. This was a curious, albeit telling, decision.

Most general managers prefer to bring in their own guy and start fresh, and Quinn certainly had every reason and opportunity to do so.

He chose Caldwell.

Quinn clearly saw something he liked, and after making the playoffs last season, rewarded Caldwell with a contract extension.

BUYER BEWARE

For all the vitriol surrounding Caldwell, he has done a good job with the Lions.

In three-plus seasons, he has won the most games (35) of any Lions’ head coach since Wayne Fontes.  He has won two straight games at Lambeau, something no Lions coach has accomplished since 1990 and 1991. Under his watch, the team made the playoffs twice in three seasons.

Keeping Caldwell is not a surrender to mediocrity, as many Lions fans suggest. Granted, the bar for success is low, and expectations are high.

Winning consistently is a culture, and does not happen overnight. Replacing Caldwell with someone else is not a guarantor of success.

Next: 7 Lions who could be gone in 2018

There may be as many as ten head coaching vacancies this offseason. That means the Lions will be contending with nearly a third of the league for their next head coach. The best candidates may simply want nothing to do with the Lions’ vacancy, which means the team could once again settle for – not select – its new leader.