Jim Caldwell Meeting With New Lions GM Bob Quinn, Josh McDaniels A Target?

Update:

Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports Lions HC Jim Caldwell is on his way back into Detroit to meet new GM Bob Quinn, and ultimately his fate with the team sometime this weekend.

John Wooten, chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance that promotes diversity in NFL hiring, tells Birkett that he believes Caldwell deserves to return for a third season, even though Birkett previously reported that Quinn has his eye on Patriots OC Josh McDaniels to be the team’s next head coach.

“He realizes that he needs to get back there because they need to sit down and go through what you need to do in terms of, you’ve got a new guy now, therefore this guy’s in charge and therefore you need to sit down with him face to face and go over it,” Wooten said. “And he’s prepared to do that and he will do that. I think that he knows that he should stand on his record. His record is good enough that they’re moving on forward … that he has them on the right track.”

• Ian Rapoport reports that Bob Quinn will evaluate the team’s coaching situation, but current HC Jim Caldwell is not considered safe right now.

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The first order of business for new Lions’ GM Bob Quinn will be to determine whether or not they’ll retain HC Jim Caldwell and the rest of the team’s coaching staff for the 2016 season.

A Patriots insider tells Mike O’Hara of DetroitLions.com Quinn is likely to keep Caldwell in place as the team’s head coach next year.

Indications have been that Caldwell was likely to be back, despite the coaching changes that were made during the year, and the fact that they got off to such a poor start. However, the Lions have maintained that this decision will ultimately be up to their next GM.

“Nothing’s changed,” Wood said. “We’re going to let the general manager hire the coach. That’s one of the primary functions of his job — the hiring of the coach.”

O’Hara writes that if Caldwell stays, it’s likely that offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter will also be back with the team, especially when you consider that QB Matthew Stafford has campaigned for both Caldwell and Cooter.

Some have said that it would make sense for Detroit to bring Caldwell back based on the fact that they were targeting first-time general manager candidates. The Lions could always move on next year if they continue to struggle and allow Quinn to hire his own head coach.

Caldwell is in the second year of his contract with the Lions and has led them to a a record of 31-17 (54.8 percent) to go along with one playoffs appearance.

We’ll have more regarding Caldwell’s future as the news is available.