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.
January 1st, 2018 at 9:08 AM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 9:11 AM ^
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.
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.
January 1st, 2018 at 9:38 AM ^
We started out terribly in all but maybe 2 games this year. It was okay against bad teams but we pretty much never beat any good teams.
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.
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.
January 1st, 2018 at 8:35 AM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 8:42 AM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 8:50 AM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 9:04 AM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 11:02 AM ^
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.
January 1st, 2018 at 10:26 AM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 9:08 AM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 9:17 AM ^
"but come on, he's coaching the lions" shouldn't be an excuse for an NFL coach. The Lions have the talent to be better than 9-7. If a coach continually underachieves with talented rosters, he should be gone. I hope he lands on his feet because he's a good man, but I'm tired of watching ho hum Lions
January 1st, 2018 at 9:38 AM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 9:20 AM ^
This whole schtick that they're the Lions so of course they're going to suck is silly anyway. They've brought in a professional front office that looks quite competent and have a decent roster..For once, their having high expectations is justified.
January 1st, 2018 at 10:02 AM ^
Why are they destined to 5 wins or less for the next 5 years? Is that what Caldwell did after he was hired? Your statement makes no sense.
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.
January 1st, 2018 at 8:43 AM ^
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.
January 1st, 2018 at 8:50 AM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 8:52 AM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 8:57 AM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 9:56 AM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 8:58 AM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 8:59 AM ^
Talk about a bad hangover..
January 1st, 2018 at 9:05 AM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 9:36 AM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 9:59 AM ^
ESPN can only match it with 1 billion dollars and Jamele Hill. So, looks like a lock to be the Raiders next HC.
January 1st, 2018 at 3:52 PM ^
I think the Raiders offer was a 10% ownership share and a seat on the board of directors. I can imagine the response his agent got when he approached Disney with that one.
January 1st, 2018 at 10:03 AM ^
They can have him! I've never subscribed to the Gruden hype...
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.
January 1st, 2018 at 9:07 AM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 9:12 AM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 9:07 AM ^
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.
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.
January 1st, 2018 at 9:15 AM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 9:52 AM ^
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.
January 1st, 2018 at 6:01 PM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 9:57 AM ^
Martha and Quinn give me hope. I think Quinn is solid. Best GM Detroit has had in a very long time.
January 1st, 2018 at 10:00 AM ^
January 1st, 2018 at 10:26 AM ^
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.
January 1st, 2018 at 10:07 AM ^