Caldwell: Everything Being Evaluated, Including Coaching Staff
By Ashley Scoby
@AshleyScoby
Lions head coach Jim Caldwell said "everything" is under evaluation after a 1-6 start to the season, but continued to reiterate his faith in his coaching staff.
Detroit blew a double-digit lead against the Vikings Sunday, and fell apart offensively. They'll head to London on Monday night for a game against the Chiefs. It isn't exactly uncommon for NFL teams to dump staff members overseas to try to find a fresh start after clearing customs.
It doesn't always come immediately (although Dolphins coach Joe Philbin was fired hours after his team lost in England this year). But out of the 12 losing coaches in the London games, six of them were fired during or after the season.
"We're looking at this particular game and focusing on this game," Caldwell said when asked if he was considering any changes to the staff or play-calling duties. "We evaluate everything all the time, which I told you the other night. … We evaluate all the time, so we look at every single thing, every avenue, trying to get better, particularly where we are, right? We better look at everything."
Offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi has come under fire in particular this season. Play-calling has been doubted, especially when Calvin Johnson isn't being used as frequently as possible, offensive line protection has continually broken down and the run game has been nonexistent the majority of the season.
But Caldwell has stubbornly stood beside Lombardi and the rest of the coaching staff, based off the Lions' 11-5 season last year with the same staff.
"What I believe is that we've won before and that leads me to believe we can do it again," he said. "We did it last year (and) that leads me to believe that we can do it again. This year's not over yet."
Technically speaking, there is quite a bit of season left – nine games. But even if the Lions won out and ended the season at 10-6, a playoff berth would likely still be in jeopardy.
"Everybody is displeased," Caldwell said, including ownership and management. And although Caldwell wouldn't say whether a coaching change would come in the near future ("I didn't say that"), he continued to preach the evaluate-everything approach.
"Maybe I should clarify when I said that we're evaluating, and that continues to be the case," he said. "So we make adjustments where we think they're necessary and that deals with everything that we do. I think that's the best way to explain it."
