http://www.freep.com/story/sports/n...ecision-looms-new-gm-and-coach-meet/78560936/
Caldwell decision looms; new GM and coach to meet
Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press 3:40 p.m. EST January 9, 2016
Jim Caldwell is on his way back into town to meet new general manager Bob Quinn, and the Detroit Lions coach should learn his fate with the team sometime this weekend.
John Wooten, chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance that promotes diversity in NFL hiring, said Caldwell deserves to return for a third season as Lions coach even though it appears Quinn wants to move in a different direction.
Quinn spent the past 16 years in a variety of roles with the New England Patriots and has deep ties to two of the top head-coaching candidates on the market, Patriots coordinators Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia.
McDaniels, in particular, is believed to be a favorite of Quinn's, though the Lions won't be able to interview him after Sunday's wild-card games until the Patriots are done with the playoffs.
Caldwell gave his staff off until the Senior Bowl later this month, and left town himself earlier this week.
He and Quinn are expected to meet later tonight or on Sunday.
"He realizes that he needs to get back there because they need to sit down and go through what you need to do in terms of, you’ve got a new guy now, therefore this guy’s in charge and therefore you need to sit down with him face to face and go over it," Wooten said. "And he’s prepared to do that and he will do that. I think that he knows that he should stand on his record. His record is good enough that they’re moving on forward ... that he has them on the right track."
Caldwell, who has two years left on the contract he signed in January of 2014, has been in a state of limbo since the Lions ended their season last Sunday with a 24-20 win over the Chicago Bears.
The Lions were one of the most disappointing teams in the NFL this year, starting 1-7 and losing to the Green Bay Packers on a Hail Mary in early December. But they closed the season with six wins in their final eight games and many inside the organization felt Caldwell had done enough to keep his job.
Lions players have campaigned for Caldwell’s return in recent weeks, with everyone from quarterback Matthew Stafford to receiver Calvin Johnson saying they wanted their coach back.
“Caldwell is hands down probably the best coach that I’ve been a part of, been under,” cornerback Rashean Mathis said Monday. “And I’m sure a lot of guys in this locker room feel that way and I’m sure a lot of guys in this locker room will look forward to playing with him again.”
Wooten said Caldwell deserves to return for a third season with the Lions based on the team's accomplishments on the field.
“The thing that I want to point out is that, yes, I am the chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance and it is my job to work for minorities and opportunities for minority inclusion and so forth," Wooten said. "But it’s not even about that. It is about a man who has done the job when he was fighting short-handed with a short stick because of the players, excellent players, being taken away from him, first-round draft choices going out the door."
Caldwell is 18-15 in two seasons with the Lions, including a first-round playoff loss to the Dallas Cowboys last year.
The Lions went 11-5 in Caldwell's first season as head coach, tied for the second-best record in franchise history, then slumped at the start of this season after losing star defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh in free agency and top linebacker DeAndre Levy to injury.
The Lions blew a 21-3 lead in their season-opening loss to the San Diego Chargers, then dropped their next four games. They got blown out by the Arizona Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs in the first half of the season, and Caldwell was encouraged to fire three offensive assistants, including coordinator Joe Lombardi, during the Lions' league-worst start.
"He understood that he needed to make changes or he could make changes, and he did that with the staff and so forth," Wooten said. "It’s not easy to fire guys period, but when you fire them in the middle of the season. that’s a very difficult thing. Yet he stood strong and did what he needed to do to try to fit this ball club back, and he in fact did it. He did it. They came back."
Martin Mayhew and Tom Lewand lost their jobs as GM and president in early November, but as the Lions put together two separate three-game winning streaks, momentum appeared to be building for Caldwell's return.
Lions owner Martha Ford and about a dozen of her family members gave Caldwell an ovation after the Lions’ 45-14 Thanksgiving win over the Philadelphia Eagles, and the team closed the season on a three-game winning streak.
Quinn, who was announced Friday as GM, has total control of the Lions' football operations - and the feeling now is that Caldwell could be down to his final days as coach.
Wooten pointed to Stafford's play in the second half of the season, after Jim Bob Cooter took over as offensive coordinator, and impact Caldwell has had on players as reasons why Caldwell should return.
With Cooter in charge of the offense, Stafford closed the season with one of the best stretches of his career. He threw 17 touchdown passes and just one interception in the Lions’ final seven games.
Asked about Caldwell's future last week, Stafford said he “absolutely” would speak on Caldwell’s behalf if the new general manager asked for his opinion.
“I think he’s a great coach and a really good man,” Stafford said. “You don’t go 1-7 and come back and go 6-2 if your team doesn’t believe in your coach, so we definitely do.”