1VaBlue1

January 1st, 2018 at 8:53 AM ^

Did the team play for him against Cincinatti?

I get your point - he's a good man, a father figure, if you will.  And players respect that.  But he has enough faults as a coach that moving on seems like the right thing to do.  Its hard, but he knows the game well, and had to expect that it was coming.  I don't think these things are ever done in a vacuum.

Joined: 01/31/2016

MGoPoints: 127371

MainStreetMagic

January 1st, 2018 at 9:11 AM ^

Those are good points. But I guess recent history has me skeptical that they’ll find anyone better. Plus, if they find a guy who wants to force the team into a complete stylistic overhaul, as opposed to making some tweaks to a team that has some pieces to work with, they’re in for another brutal stretch of 5 win seasons. I’m not so sure it’s worth it.

Joined: 09/08/2013

MGoPoints: 1524

1VaBlue1

January 1st, 2018 at 10:00 AM ^

Yeah, they can't do that - bringing in someone that would change philosophy's would be a huge mistake.  But I don't think they'll do that.  The fact is, though, that they are standing still right now, so they need to make a change.  It may, or may not, work out, but a change is needed.

Joined: 01/31/2016

MGoPoints: 127371

GoBlueInNYC

January 1st, 2018 at 9:09 AM ^

Did he build a stable team? They seem to have a lot of problem areas (e.g., offensive line, lack of a running game, weak pass rush, linebacker issues). Watching that team was like watching a team really working hard to win in spite of some serious structural problems.

Joined: 03/23/2010

MGoPoints: 8763

jmarsh22

January 1st, 2018 at 11:53 AM ^

They have nothing to lose - they weren't gonna win anything of consequence with this guy. Period. Aim higher. Beating only bad teams and losing literally every big game against a good team isn't good enough.

Joined: 09/07/2010

MGoPoints: 1096

GoBlueInNYC

January 1st, 2018 at 9:07 AM ^

There is no reason for an NFL team to accept that their ceiling is 9-7 and maybe sneaking into a wildcard spot. The NFL has too much parity built into their system for a franchise to just give up on the idea of winning literally anything (if not the Super Bowl, at least win some division titles). This isn't college where a school might not be able to recruit on the level of its competitors; any team can be built into a winner.

Joined: 03/23/2010

MGoPoints: 8763

allintime23

January 1st, 2018 at 8:42 AM ^

Seems like he’s the only guy that won in Detroit in the last 30 years. I’m sure he has big flaws but come on, he’s coaching the lions. They just fired the playoffs or nine wins in the hunt for another 5 years of 6 wins or less and another new coach. Sorry.

Joined: 09/21/2009

MGoPoints: 15225

Yessir

January 1st, 2018 at 11:20 AM ^

Its not a stat, but PFF has had him ranked in the middle of the pack most of the year, iirc. 17th at one point, again, iirc.

Currently 13th ranked QB. 

He has a LOT of talent, I just don't see that elite status that a lot of people do.  And frankly, I don't care how our QB is ranked.  The only thing I care about is our teams Win/Loss record.

I'll be drinking honolulu blue koolaid all offseason. 

Joined: 12/22/2015

MGoPoints: 7270

Maynard

January 1st, 2018 at 10:15 AM ^

Only the Lion fanbase would have such a loser attitude like "Oh my God, we can't find anyone else to keep us at a mediocre level." Come on. I'm glad Quinn is making the decision and not some of the fans. Have some pride. Some of the same losers are probably the ones who didn't want Cleveland to go 0-16 because they want the selfish victimhood all to themselves. 

Joined: 02/19/2016

MGoPoints: 9888

The Fugitive

January 1st, 2018 at 8:46 AM ^

Idk what coach out there can take this team to the next level but I give JC credit for at least making them average and competitive.  They still couldn't beat anyone with a pulse tho.

Joined: 01/26/2016

MGoPoints: 77786

Guy Fawkes

January 1st, 2018 at 8:52 AM ^

At some point you have to beat a good team, Caldwell never did. Not only that is that in these big games the team basically collapsed. I think they're on the cusp of being a solid 11-5 dare I say 12 win team. Get a RB, build the Dline back up, bring in a couple more established vets and this team can do things. No more getting held back by coaching.

Joined: 09/28/2016

MGoPoints: 1716

LSAClassOf2000

January 1st, 2018 at 9:07 AM ^

Well, if my slightly hungover self was going to want good news to begin the new year, this wouls definitely qualify. 

I will be interested to see what the candidate pool looks like for Detroit. 

Joined: 01/07/2011

MGoPoints: 130669

Coldwater

January 1st, 2018 at 9:07 AM ^

It had to be done. Ford and Quinn can't be satisfied with just average, solid, and stable. I just want the next head coach to look like they have a pulse.

Joined: 12/14/2008

MGoPoints: 11234

1VaBlue1

January 1st, 2018 at 9:07 AM ^

It doesn't matter that Caldwell was seemingly the best Lions coach in the last 20 years, the team has hit it's ceiling with him.  It's stagnant, and can't beat good teams - so it's not working with Caldwell.  And when things aren't improving from 'not quite good enough', it's time for a change.

There is no promise that whoever the new guy is, will be better (see: RR replaced by Hoke).  But a change has to be made in the effort to further improve the team.  I applaud the decision, and hope for good times ahead.

Joined: 01/31/2016

MGoPoints: 127371

uncle leo

January 1st, 2018 at 9:13 AM ^

He's the Lions Rick Carlisle. He did as much as he could with the roster. Stablized the team, but just doesn't have the talent as an HC to get past that.

Time to find that guy that can maximize what they have.

I know a lot of people like JC for his stability, continuinity, all that stuff. The fact of the matter is that when it came to the actual game, actual decision making, he hurt this team. He threw challenges when he shouldn't, didn't when he should, and played things laughably conservative. I will never forget the punt from the 40 against Dallas on 4th and inches. That showed me he just didn't have the guts and the creativity to go further.

And to be honest, it was kind of insulting to see all the magic, misdirection, motion, and general creativity yesterday. That was a slap in the face to the fans who wanted that all season when it counted.

Joined: 07/29/2012

MGoPoints: 34636

MadMatt

January 1st, 2018 at 9:52 AM ^

There are two parts of Lions history relevant here: 1) Mr. Ford hung on to manifestly incompetent people too long, thinking he was creating stability. 2) The geological layers of disaster in all areas of the franchise will require more than one GM/coaching regime to build a consistent winner. Maybe not a one season miracle (like the Sanders/Mitchell/Moore team). So, I think we are actually a couple of steps along the process and have some pieces in place. After the Millen era culminated in the 0-16 season, the Lions needed a wildman to blow up the culture. Enter Jim Schwartz, and mission accomplished. However, his teams were undisciplined and prone to self destruct. Enter Jim Caldwell, who improved consistency and kept the team in playoff contention every season. Pause for a second. After the 0-16 debacle and all the years before that, wouldn't you have taken that in a heartbeat? Caldwell is a good man who did what he was supposed to do. He can't go beyond that, but he earned the extra guaranteed year. So now we move on to a new coaching staff, but look at the pieces in place: a true franchise quarterback, several other good players, a front office that hits on player acquisitions about half the time, and an owner who seems to know when to act. It's not the Patriots or the Steelers level of a well run run franchise, but we can work with this. We've all come by our PTSD honestly, but there are reasons this time will be different. So, Happy New Year!

Joined: 11/06/2013

MGoPoints: 13937

1VaBlue1

January 1st, 2018 at 10:11 AM ^

I agree with pretty much everything you said.  Except, I won't give WCF that much credit - that he held onto incompetence trying to create continuity.  I don't think he had that much business sense.  He kept a handful of people in his inner circle, and never fired them because they were close friends that he trusted.  Somehow, Matt Millen got in there (like Chuck Schmidt did)...  He did the same thing with FMC, and ran it into the ground.  He just wasn't a good business man.

Joined: 01/31/2016

MGoPoints: 127371

Chitown Kev

January 1st, 2018 at 10:00 AM ^

firing a 10-6 coach that has already taken the team to the Super Bowl...the Lions were not going too get much better under Caldwell...the Lions had reached a ceiling under Caldwell that Martha Ford finds unacceptable.

Joined: 10/01/2011

MGoPoints: 4970