OT: Jim Caldwell hired by Lions

Submitted by NFG on

Per Adam Schefter, the Lions and Jim Caldwell have agreed to terms. Thoughts?

Simps

January 14th, 2014 at 12:25 PM ^

I am done with the retreads of coaches. I wish I could quit being a Lions fan. I try to like other teams, but it just doesn't "stick" and every time I watch them play/lose in horrible fashion, I just think "man, I wasted 3 hours of my life on that"

ijohnb

January 14th, 2014 at 1:46 PM ^

a large part of the job is administrative and bureacratic nonsense along with media relations.  They want somebody who knows "how" to be a head coach in the simplest terms, not necessarilty somebody who knows how to be a great one. 

There are the have and the have nots in the NFL.  This entire search has confirmed for me that the Lions are a have not and will likely be so for quite some time.

samsoccer7

January 14th, 2014 at 2:05 PM ^

There was actually a good article written a couple of years ago analyzing the success of NFL "second chance" head coaches.  It showed that a lot of guys have had success the second time around after getting fired the first go-round.  I think there's some validity to it b/c guys may get overwhelmed the first time, maybe make some critical early mistakes that they can't recover from (wrong coaches hired, wrong attitude towards players at the beginning, etc etc).  The second time they probably come in more cautious and thoughtful, which can make a difference.  Anyway, I don't know how that success has changed over the last few years with other retread coaches.  Overall though, not that happy about Caldwell, but not just b/c he's a retread.

AeonBlue

January 14th, 2014 at 12:48 PM ^

In true Lions fashion, they couldn't even close on a coach. I mean, I don't hate the Calwell hire but it's not exciting either. Their criteria was too narrow and they treated the whole situation like they could just hand-pick whomever they wanted and they would come running.

Like most things Lions related, I'm pretty disappointed.

Everyone Murders

January 14th, 2014 at 1:33 PM ^

If you believe the BUZZ out there, there's a good reason Whisenhunt did not come to Detroit.  According to the Pride of Detroit article I linked above, Whisenhunt was set on running 3x4 defense.  If so, then Whisenhunt would have been a bad marriage for the Lions, given their defensive personnel and their roster commitment to players suited to a 4x3 defense.

That article also suggests that Whisenhunt was attracted to the lesser competition of the AFC South.  I find that a bit harder to believe, but maybe so.  Either way, I'm curious to see what Caldwell brings to the table in terms of discipling, QB coaching, and so forth. 

Also, we should at least in part be happy that the Lions have finally hired a black head coach.  I never think this should be the overall goal, but in a city with demographics like Detroit, it's nice to have a black coach running the show. 

Everyone Murders

January 14th, 2014 at 3:36 PM ^

I didn't mean to imply you or anyone else in particular needs to be happy.  Be indifferent if you like. 

In my view, it's a nice biproduct of the coaching search.  I would not look at being black as anything close to a job requirement (or even anything that should tip the proverbial scale), but in a predominantly black city it's nice to have a black head coach as a face of authority. 

I would not normally even mention it, but this team has never had a black head coach before.  (They've had white wide receivers before.)

 

 

Ron Utah

January 14th, 2014 at 12:31 PM ^

But we have the right to judge, and to be skeptical based on the Ford family's history of hiring mediocre heach coaches.

Caldwell was 2-14 his last season in Indy, and 26-63 as a head coach at Wake Forest.  His Ravens were 29th in total offense this year.

I was excited about Mariucci.  I was excited about Schwartz.  Heck, I was even excited about Marinelli.

As a lifelong Lions fan, I've earned the right to be skeptical.  I hope I'm wrong, but this looks like and uninspiring hire.

Bryan

January 14th, 2014 at 12:27 PM ^

Finish in third place in the Divison in 2014. He makes the playoffs once in the next five years, gets canned and the Fords do this all again. 

It's been the same cycle for 50 years. 

xxxxNateDaGreat

January 14th, 2014 at 1:27 PM ^

I'd be shocked if he lasted past three years. This isn't a rebuild and I'm sure they know it. If Caldwell misses the playoffs in his first two years during the first time the Lions have been semi relevant since Barry Sanders and during Stafford's prime, they will can him.

mGrowOld

January 14th, 2014 at 12:35 PM ^

Dear BlueCube:

Trust me you do NOT want that.

Sincerely,

All the Browns fans that have had to wach the Ravens win two Super Bowls, be in the playoffs every year and endure the comical blunders of our so-called brain trust through the past 14 years since we got the "new Browns".

 

Naked Bootlegger

January 14th, 2014 at 12:28 PM ^

I swore off the Lions for about the 38th time in my life, but I'll sheepishly crawl back to the TV next year and watch for a renewed pulse.   I know...not exactly an inspiring way to enter a football season.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

January 14th, 2014 at 12:30 PM ^

I'm willing to give him the chance he deserves.  Anyone who both wanted to fire Schwartz and simultaneously didn't want to hire a "retread" has got to learn the meaning of "you can't have it both ways."  You can either have a guy who's never been a head coach or a guy who was.  Schwartz was the former.  And the Lions need a guy who was.  No more learning on the job.  Complaining about "retreads" is silly.

That said, it's obvious we're settling after failing to land Whisenhunt.  I would hope they're paying less than they'd have paid Whisenhunt.  I don't give Caldwell a lot of credit for developing Peyton Manning, because, c'mon, Peyton Manning.  Neither do I blame him much for going 2-14 because it's obvious that's exactly what the Colts organization wanted to do.

theyellowdart

January 14th, 2014 at 12:40 PM ^

 

Personally, I couldn't care less about his record at Wake Forest.   The job and duties of a college football coach are nothing like that of an NFL Coach.   There are horrible College Coaches that end up doing great in the Pros, and great college coaches that completely flame out in the Pros.

Not to mention, that was over 14 years ago.  It's not that meaningful now.

 

But I get it... He's not a big huge name so people will hate.  

theyellowdart

January 14th, 2014 at 12:53 PM ^

I understand people paying attention to it.  It just means nothing at all to me.  14+ years ago and not in the NFL.  It's nearly meaningless to the job he can do.

 

I'm not saying the guy is going to be Vince Lombardi or anything.  I just kinda laugh at the people who think he's going to fail because he wasn't a good College Coach.

pescadero

January 14th, 2014 at 3:40 PM ^

No one wins at Wake Forest...

 

John Mackovic (1978-1980): 14-20 (81-62-3 otherwise)

Al Groh (1981-1986): 26-40 (59-52 otherwise)

Bill Dooley (1987-1992): 29-36-2 (132-91-3 otherwise)

Jim Caldwell (1993-2000): 26-63

Jim Grobe (2001-2013): 77-82 (33-33-1 otherwise)

 

 

Nitro

January 14th, 2014 at 12:58 PM ^

Ravens regressed this year because Harbaugh got super-controlling about everything and took the playbook out of his hands.  I'm a Ravens fan, I watched that mess all year.  Caldwell didn't get to be involved, despite having fixed their problems to get them to the Super Bowl last year.