As the Detroit Lions' new boss, Bob Quinn gets to choose who stays, who goes and everything in between.

The first order of business: What to do with coach Jim Caldwell?

Thoughtful reason comes from both sides of the debate. 

Caldwell supporters point to last season’s playoff run.  (With the Lions, making the playoffs designates a “run.”  Winning games is an afterthought.)  They also cite this year’s strong finish, which rings a bit hollow when you consider the games won were essentially meaningless after such a destructive first two months of the season.


Bob Quinn

The “fire Caldwell” camp points to his undeniable struggle to make good decisions during the 60 minutes each week that his Lions are engaged in battle.  For example: 

♦ People will forever lament that non-flag in the playoff loss to Dallas, but don’t forget it was Caldwell opting to send in the punt unit on the next play when one more yard would have put the Lions in supreme position to hold their small lead and gain victory.

♦ Given, the refs erred in not recognizing the “batted ball” rule in Seattle this year, but as a head coach in the NFL, you must be sharply in tune with the game’s rulebook.  A football savant like Bill Belichick would have had that wrong righted in short order, while our guy stood on the sidelines with little to no awareness that such an egregious officiating error had just occurred. 

♦ Possibly the worst gaffe, and maybe the one that does cost Caldwell his gig, was the bizarre defense the Lions sent in to defend what 100% of the viewing public knew was about to be an Aaron Rodgers Hail Mary attempt.  With 60 yards to go, that’s a distance most big-armed NFL QBs are comfortable tossing in the air, especially in the comfy confines of a dome.  If Green Bay was ten or 15 yards back, it’s understandable putting out a group that is prepared to defend a hook-and-ladder type play (which I never really thought required a specific alignment anyway).  But Caldwell made a gross misread of the situation.  The Lions sent no pressure at Rodgers, they had a few guys hanging out around the 50-yard-line (??), and of the handful of defenders that were stationed in the end zone, none of them were Calvin Johnson or Eric Ebron, two of the squad’s tallest and most athletic players.  It was an avoidable loss that cost the Lions any still-lingering hopes of reaching the playoffs.

Not a Slam Dunk

With Quinn taking over an NFL team for the first time in his career, you’d imagine that selecting his own head coach would be the preferred route.  Why put your future record on the line with someone you had no part in hiring to begin with?

It’s not necessarily a slam dunk decision in either case, but it’s difficult to see the advantages of keeping Caldwell around. 

It’s fair to say that he is never going to be some game-changing, groundbreaking head coach.  His schemes are relatively vanilla and his in-game choices mostly mundane.  Given his no-nonsense attitude, you’d think that would mean the Lions at least put out a professional effort every Sunday, but that hasn’t been the case, either.  Their no-show in London this season vs. Kansas City was especially disheartening given the world stage and the desperate need for a win at that point in the schedule. 

Jim Caldwell is not the worst coach in the NFL, but he’s also nowhere near the upper echelon.  And as the new sheriff in town, why should Quinn settle for mediocrity? 

Clean the slate, put your stamp on the organization, and go make a splash by hiring someone the fan base can really get behind.

If that’s a college guy, fine.  If it’s a hotshot coordinator from another NFL team, great.  If it’s Wayne Fontes looking to make his Motor City return, we’re all for it.

But when 7-9 is celebrated and playoff wins are still a figment of the imagination, remaining status quo is likely not the best option.

We’ll see in the coming days which path Quinn chooses to take: if he’s a take-charge GM intent on winning a championship and nothing less -- or if poking around the .500 mark year after year with the same coach and same quarterback and same everything is just fine for now.

This organization has never been swift about making moves and looking to achieve greatness. Maybe, just maybe, that’s about to change.