Jim Caldwell's Future Still Undetermined With The Lions
By Ashley Scoby
@AshleyScoby
Lions head coach Jim Caldwell would not confirm Monday whether he had met with team owner Martha Firestone Ford or president Rod Wood to discuss his future with the team. The Lions finished the NFL season Sunday with a win against the Bears, sliding into a 7-9 final record after being eliminated from the playoffs weeks ago.
Caldwell's future as head coach likely rests with the yet-to-be-named general manager of the organization. Wood told reporters Sunday that the GM search will begin "in earnest" Monday. NFL rules prohibit organizations from interviewing candidates employed by other teams while the season is going on.
Caldwell also said it wasn't his "position" to meet with GM candidates when they arrive in Detroit for interviews.
Interim general manager Sheldon White will have a chance to interview for the permanent job. During his half-season at the helm, he earned Caldwell's praise.
"What I do know is who my boss is today and my boss is Sheldon White, just in terms of the next man above me," Caldwell said. "And I do know that he's done a tremendous job in the weeks he's been in charge. That's what I know."
After an abysmal 1-7 start to the season, the Lions finished the second half at 6-2. Should games against the Seahawks (a goal-line fumble that wasn't reversed upon review) and Packers (Aaron Rodgers throwing a Hail Mary) had gone differently, Detroit could have found itself in the playoffs.
But the way the team finished the second half of the season is something Caldwell has made no secret he's proud of.
"What they accomplished in the second half was hard to do," he said. "It's very difficult to do when things are going well, to end an eight-game stretch 6-2. … These guys hung in there and battled through a lot of adversity. I certainly have to give them a lot of credit."
Caldwell finished last regular season 11-5, before the Lions lost in the wild card round of the playoffs to Dallas.
Ford has not made herself available to the media since she made a statement (and didn't take questions) upon the firing of president Tom Lewand and GM Martin Mayhew. She told reporters in Chicago that she "hadn't gotten that far" in terms of evaluating Caldwell.
