Bill Shea: Jim Caldwell May Be The Lions' Alan Mulally, Fords Hope

Jim Caldwell and Alan Mulally share more in common than the fact that each works for the Ford family, Bill Shea suggests insightfully.

Each key driver of a local enterprise has a "calm demeanor and relentless, consistent optimism in public and behind closed doors," the Crain's writer observes -- traits that could be partly why Mulally heads an automaker and Caldwell just became a NFL head coach.   

Can Jim Caldwell do for the Detroit Lions in the win-loss column what Alan Mulally did in rescuing the Ford Motor Co. from financial ruin?

That's what the Ford family is banking upon.

Caldwell's "measured style also is a radical shift from the last coach, Jim Schwartz," Shea notes, citing the predecessor's "reputation for embarrassing sideline histrionics and for running a team widely criticized for talent squandered because of a lack of discipline."

In his inspired analysis, the sports business writer quotes Bill Ford Jr., executive chairman for Ford Motor Co. and vice chairman of the Lions,  as praising Caldwell's steady demeanor:

"I think he's very calm and very measured, but has a real fire burning inside of him."  

Ford, who recruited Mulally from Boeing just over seven years ago to run the automaker, is the straight-line link between a car company and a football team.

"When I hired Alan Mulally, no one had ever heard of him," he told reporters at Wednesday's press conference, in defense of criticism that the Caldwell hire was the wrong move. . . . Naysayers . .  . blasted the Lions for what they said was a panic hire.

The side-by-side comparison isn't a flush fit, Shea knows. Mulally is CEO and president of a publicly traded global manufacturer. "Caldwell doesn't have that much power," the journalist acknowledges before adding:

"But an NFL coach holds a CEO's power in how a team deploys its main asset."  

Sources: Wikipedia and other references