The Detroit Lions have officially hired Jim Caldwell as their new head coach, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. It's Caldwell's second head coaching gig of his career.
Lions hire Jim Caldwell as head coach
Caldwell gets a second chance at head coaching. The Lions tapped him to replace Jim Schwartz.
Caldwell got his NFL start as a quarterbacks coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2001. He had a long relationship with Tony Dungy and followed the head coach to the Indianapolis Colts, helping the team win the Super Bowl in 2006. Caldwell succeeded Dungy as head coach in 2009, leading the Colts to another Super Bowl appearance that year. He got fired after a disastrous 2011 season, in which Peyton Manning missed the whole year due to multiple neck surgeries.
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Following that season, Caldwell went back to being a quarterbacks coach, joining the Baltimore Ravens in 2012. He got promoted to offensive coordinator when Cam Cameron got fired midseason. Caldwell was credited with reviving the Ravens' offense down the stretch, helping Baltimore win the Super Bowl that year.
The Lions fired Jim Schwartz after five seasons in Detroit. He took the fall for the team’s underachievement, losing six of its last seven games to blow a potential divisional title. The Lions had only one winning season under Schwartz, but there is enough talent on both sides of the ball to right the ship.
Detroit was once thought the front-runners to land Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, but he accepted the job with the Tennessee Titans instead.
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