And now we’re down to two (head coaching vacancies).
The Lions filled theirs Tuesday, hiring Ravens offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell as their next head coach, a league source confirms to PFT. The team has quickly announced the move, as well.
Caldwell brings a stability the Lions needed, and has the kind of offensive credentials to work with the impressive collection of parts on hand.
They clearly were looking for someone to add some maturity to a team that flashed talent, but often showed its immaturity during the Jim Schwartz era. Caldwell had the endorsement of his old boss Tony Dungy, and has the same kind of calm demeanor which the Lions could use.
Quite a great hire, actually. Could be the guy to find a middle ground between a milquetoast team and a team of personalities spiraling out of control. It seems that what the Lions need more than anything is an alchemist who can turn all those myriad diamonds in the rough into gold.
I would think Stafford is pretty excited at this point to get a chance to work with the coach who helped turn Manning into an elite QB (he became Manning's QB coach when Manning was 26), and coached Joe Flacco to a Super Bowl MVP award.
Suddenly, the Lions look legit.
"You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer." - Frank Zappa
BGM wrote:Quite a great hire, actually. Could be the guy to find a middle ground between a milquetoast team and a team of personalities spiraling out of control. It seems that what the Lions need more than anything is an alchemist who can turn all those myriad diamonds in the rough into gold.
I would think Stafford is pretty excited at this point to get a chance to work with the coach who helped turn Manning into an elite QB (he became Manning's QB coach when Manning was 26), and coached Joe Flacco to a Super Bowl MVP award.
Suddenly, the Lions look legit.
We'll see... they are the Lions, after all.
I think it could be a good hire though, for the reasons you suggested.
Guess maybe we won't have the worst coach in the division.
The Lions are the Lions for a reason. Jim Caldwell. Oh boy nice hire, idiots!
Ravens ranked 25th in points and 29th in yards this year under Caldwell. Worst rankings in the history of the team. After five years in the top half of the league in both, they plummet when he's named OC going into the season. And the result? A head coaching gig. Only the Lions...
That was pretty much my reaction when I first heard lol. When did the Lions rehire Matt Millen because that's the only thing that can explain this move. Caldwell did a nice job with the Colts there too. Boo'd off the field for pulling Manning in an undefeated season, and then having him start the following week in a blizzard in a meaningless game and letting his star WR and star TE play the entire game because he wanted them both to finish with 100 catches. I guess he's got that priorities thing down. Oh well, good news for us haha.
"Our playoff loss to the Vikings in '87 was probably the most traumatic experience I had in sports." -- Bill Walsh
According to the Detroit Free Press, the Lions gauged Tony Dungy's interest in their head-coaching vacancy before hiring Jim Caldwell.
As he's done to every job offer since retiring after the 2008 season, Dungy said thanks, but no thanks. Instead, he went to bat for his former protege Caldwell, having serious sway with Lions GM Martin Mayhew. A Hall-of-Fame finalist, the 58-year-old Dungy appears to have zero interest in returning to coaching. Source: Detroit Free Press
“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.” --- Bill Shankly
dead_poet wrote:As he's done to every job offer since retiring after the 2008 season, Dungy said thanks, but no thanks. Instead, he went to bat for his former protege Caldwell, having serious sway with Lions GM Martin Mayhew. Source: Detroit Free Press
Well I hope that works out for them just like Frazier did for us.
