Jim Caldwell retained as head coach by new Lions GM

Jim Caldwell will not be fired after a 7-9 season as the head coach of the Detroit Lions, the team announced on Friday morning. In the first five games of the season, the Lions matched their loss total from 2014, and dropped to 1-7 before finally finishing the year by winning six of their last eight games.

The decision to keep Caldwell was made by the team’s new general manager, Bob Quinn, who was the director of scouting for the New England Patriots. Quinn replaced Martin Mayhew, who was fired along with team president Tom Lewand.

In his introductory press conference on Monday, Quinn confirmed that the decision to retain or fire Caldwell would be made by him without intervention from owners and that it would depend on how well he thinks he can work with the coach after meeting with him.

“As I stated Monday, I was looking forward to the opportunity to get to know Jim,” Quinn said in a statement on Friday. “After spending a significant amount of time together, it is clear that our football philosophies are very similar.

“Consequently, I am convinced he is the right man to lead our football team moving forward. Jim’s entire body of work is impressive.”

In 2014, Caldwell’s first season in Detroit, the Lions earned a second playoff appearance in four years, suggesting that the team might become postseason regulars. The 2015 season, conversely, began with a significant step in the wrong direction that put the Lions out of contention before the calendar even reached November.

The Lions’ offensive futility has been recognized as Caldwell’s biggest failing and will be an area that keeps him under the microscope. He was hired by Detroit largely on promises that he would untap the full potential of quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Caldwell himself has been an NFL quarterbacks coach for years, most notably with Peyton Manning and the Colts from 2002 to 2008. He also brought on Joe Lombardi as offensive coordinator after he spent five seasons as the quarterbacks coach for Drew Brees and the Saints, and hired former Broncos assistant Jim Bob Cooter as a dedicated quarterbacks coach on top of that.

Lombardi was fired as offensive coordinator after a 1-6 start, but Cooter found success as his replacement and the Lions offense found rhythm in the back half of the schedule.

Stafford hardly improved from 2013 to 2014, but did improve in 2015, upping his passer rating to 97.0, his highest mark since 2011 and the ninth-best in the NFL. He did so with a heavy investment by the team in offensive skill players, adding Golden Tate and using the No. 10 overall pick in 2014 on tight end Eric Ebron. However, a beefed up offensive line and rookie Ameer Abdullah didn’t help the running game catch up to the passing offense.

Yet, what should have been one of the better offenses in the NFL was No. 22 in points scored and No. 19 in total yards in 2014. The Lions ranked No. 18 and No. 20 in those respective categories in 2015.

The Lions’ success in 2014 was largely due to an upstart defense that ranked third in points allowed and second in yards allowed. When the defense regressed in 2015 due to injuries and the free agency loss of defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, the Lions offense couldn’t carry the team to a winning record.

The Lions job is Caldwell’s second head coaching stint. He experienced another sharp decline as the head coach of the Colts from 2009 to 2011, going 14-2 in 2009 before a Super Bowl run, then 10-6 in 2010 before bottoming out at 2-14 in 2011. Caldwell was fired and the Colts immediately improved upon drafting Andrew Luck with the No. 1 overall pick.