By Mark Wilson 1/15/14

Jim Caldwell. New Detroit Lions coach.

Pardon me while I roll over and go back to sleep.

I don’t think he’s a bad choice; just a somewhat boring choice. He doesn’t move the personality needle.

To say getting a gauge on whether this “Jim” will do any better than the previous “Jim” is a big-time understatement.

We know one thing.

Caldwell definitely was the Lions SECOND choice.

The whole football world from Miami to Seattle and San Diego to New England figured that Ken Whisenhunt was ticketed to be the next victim to try and fix this wreck of a gridiron franchise. Whisenhunt wasn’t just the BEST choice… he was the ONLY choice.

A funny thing happened on the way to the press conference.

Whisenhunt ended up in Tennessee.

It was presumptuous from the start to think that “The Whiz” didn’t have options. He was the offensive coordinator on one of the more surprising teams in the NFL that came within a “Manning” of making it to the AFC Championship game. He had somehow led the sad-sack Arizona Cardinals to a Super Bowl.
He was the “Coach du jour” of the 2013-14 off season.

So, when Whisenhunt decided to blow off Detroit for Nashville, it shouldn’t have been a stunner. Hell, it actually kind of felt like he RAN to Tennessee from Denver, after the Chargers loss to the Broncos, to make sure the Titans didn’t hire someone else. Nashville is a nice city and a million more a year than what the Lions offered didn’t hurt either.

Bye, bye Whiz. We barely knew ye.

Meanwhile, back in Allen Park…

The Lions had done SOME due diligence. They had talked to Caldwell first. A collective YAWN went up around the Michigan countryside. That same yawn continued when the guy Tennessee didn’t want, Mike Munchak, also talked to GM Martin Mayhew and team president Tom Lewand and maybe even Bill Ford, Jr.

We’re not sure anymore exactly how much Ford’s dad is really involved in these processes at age 88 so it gets put on Junior.

Gary Kubiak, ex of the Houston Texans, was another name brought into the gabfest.

That was it. Four guys, four talks and four coaches for consideration to replace Jim Schwartz.

It’s not that Caldwell, Munchak and Kubiak were unreasonable candidates for Lions’ head coach it’s just that… well; uh… they weren’t THE WHIZ.

Everyone in Motown, all Lions fans it seemed, was happy with Whisenhunt getting the opportunity to do what EVERY coach since George Wilson had failed to do.

Win something!

56 football seasons have come and gone without anything more than ONE playoff victory. No championships and NO appearances in the Super Bowl which is quickly approaching a half CENTURY as America’s great sporting spectacle.

Wilson brought Michigan it’s last pro football title. Well, not counting the USFL’s Michigan Panthers.

Thank you, Jim Stanley!

It was 1957 and Wilson returned the Lions to NFL dominance.

Laugh if you must but yes, there was a time when the Detroit Lions were the jewel of the league. Wilson had followed the GREAT Buddy Parker and was named AP Coach of the Year in ’57.

After Wilson booked for the fledging new NFL franchise in Miami, Harry Gilmer was brought in to return the Lions to that championship level.

The year was 1965.

Wilson had coached for eight seasons, compiled a 53-45-and-6 record BUT just that one title. No one begrudged him for grabbing his sunscreen (did they even have that then?) and shorts for the tropical breezes of South Florida.
Yes, there was a coach with the Dolphins BEFORE Don Shula.

George Wilson remains to this day the LAST Lions coach to leave Detroit and get another NFL head coaching gig if you don’t include interim coach Dick Jauron’s flop in Buffalo. Technically, it counts since Jauron did coach five games with the Lions following the firing of Steve Mariucci. He went 1-and-4.

Ok fine, Jauron is the last one. Still, only TWO Lions’ head coaches have left and gotten another head job.

Haha. He said, “Head job.”

Wait, you can make that THREE if you count the Canadian Football League.

When Darryl Rogers got bagged in 1988, during his fourth season with the Lions, the former Michigan State coach took a flyer with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL.

Rogers was famous for the line, “What’s a guy got to do to get fired around here?” It was a legit question to the media when Darryl had bungled his time with the Lions so badly even HE couldn’t figure out why he was still employed.

Look, it’s silliness to rehash the past 56 years.

Gilmer, Joe Schmidt, Don McCafferty….

Yikes, I need to stop there for a moment.

To McCafferty’s credit, he could have been the ONE.

Donnie Mac had WON the Super Bowl with the Baltimore Colts over Dallas in 1971 for the 1970 season. Ironically, McCafferty replaced Shula in Baltimore after Shula left to replace Wilson in Miami.

Ford brought in McCafferty to do the same with the franchise he officially took ownership of on January 10, 1964. That’s the same day Rob Parker was born in Jamaica Queens, New York.

I can never get past that joke.

Schmidt, a Hall of Fame linebacker as a player in Detroit, had just finished 1972 ABOVE .500 and resigned under pressure from Ford. The Lions had standards back then!

McCafferty had been fired in ’72 by the Colts when he refused to bench legendary quarterback Johnny Unitas. He became available much like how Sparky Anderson had become available to the baseball Tigers when he was dumped in Cincinnati.

Ford gobbled him up.

The Lions went 6-7-and-1 in Mac’s first season of ’73. It was better than most thought they would do. Optimism reigned supreme for 1974.

On July 28th, just as camp was about to open, McCafferty was mowing the lawn at his West Bloomfield home. He suffered a massive heart attack and died at the hospital in Pontiac. He was only 53.

In many ways, you could say it was a tragedy the Lions STILL haven’t recovered from.

Back to the list.

McCafferty, Rick Forzano, Tommy Hudspeth, Monte Clark, Rogers, Wayne Fontes, Bobby Ross, Gary Moeller….

Alright, I need to stop one more time.

When Moeller replaced Ross with seven games to go in 2000, he got one of the biggest votes of confidence from Ford, Sr. EVER. The former Michigan coach, who had a terrible night in 1995 at Excalibur restaurant which got him fired in Ann Arbor, received a three year contract and “carte blanche” from the owner.

I can still remember Ford uttering the words, “Carte blanche.”

Carte blanche lasted just those seven games.

When Mo finished 4-and-3 and out of the playoffs thanks to a 54-yard game-winning field goal by Chicago’s Paul Edinger, a former Spartan, the former Wolverine was history in Honolulu Blue and Silver.

Matt Millen came in to replace Chuck Schmidt as the new general manager and instead of KEEPING Moeller around for a season; he decided to put himself on the clock by hiring Marty Mornhinweg.

Who knows how the fortunes might have changed if Moeller stayed for 2001?

The team was 9-and-7, missed the playoffs by a “toe” and had enough talent to believe ’01 would be another playoff year like 1999 had been.

Don’t forget, the Lions went to the post-season SIX times in the 90’s.

Six!

Sure, they had just the one victory over Dallas in January of 1992 to show for it, but compared to the past 13 years? SIX is amazing!

There was no reason whatsoever to let Moeller go without seeing what he could do for a full 16 games.

Carte Blanche my ass!

Alright… back to the list.

Moeller, Mornhinweg, Mariucci, Jauron, Rod Marinelli and Schwartz.

There you have it.

15 men have come and gone trying to get back to a George Wilson championship level. Total record of those frightful 15? 303 wins, 436 losses and 11 ties.

I just LOL’d (yep, actually laughed out loud) when I looked again at Marinelli’s ten wins in 48 games and Schwartz’s 29 wins in 81 games.

All 15 have failed miserably, save for Moeller and McCafferty. I mean, the guy did die.

Jim Caldwell makes… a sweet 16!

What a weird football resume this dude has.

Let’s start with the negatives. Always fun!

He played college football at Iowa under Bob Commings. Back in the 70’s, Commings was generally thought of as the WORST coach in the Big Ten. It’s not Caldwell’s fault he played for the worst but it’s on his ledger.

Commings “short-comings” were exemplified when the man who replaced him in Iowa City was none other than Hayden Fry.

Caldwell was gone before Fry got there.

Jimbo even spent a season coaching under that boob, Commings, as a graduate assistant.

Following three seasons at that football juggernaut, Southern Illinois, Caldwell was hired at Northwestern by new coach Dennis Green. It was groundbreaking in the Big Ten since both Caldwell and Green were minority coaches.

The year was 1981.

Northwestern was an absolute doormat in the conference unlike now. They were in the middle of a record 34-game losing streak. Green was brought in to replace the inane Rick Venturi who went on to have some success as an NFL assistant.

As bad as 1980 was in Evanston, Illinois… 1981 was even worse.

Caldwell was to help Green with the offense, quarterbacked by the non-legendary Mike Kerrigan.

In the opener at Dyche Stadium on September 12, the Wildcats gave Indiana all they could handle but lost 21-20. Northwestern fans, BOTH of them, figured a victory was in the Cats near future.

Oops. Wrong.

They lost the next ten games as well.

Northwestern would be outscored, 484-to-62 the rest of the way including FIVE shutouts.

484-to-62!

It was unparalleled in Big Ten annals.

Even Muddy Waters at Michigan State found a way to blast the Cats 61-14 on November 7th.

Caldwell didn’t make it to 1982.

He left Northwestern and joined the Colorado staff of Riverview, Michigan native Bill McCartney.

Colorado wasn’t nearly as bad as Northwestern but… they weren’t any good either. The Buffaloes went 2-8-and-1 in Caldwell’s first year coaching wide receivers.

The Buffs improved to four victories in 1983 but took a severe step back in ’84. McCartney was lucky to keep his job when a 1-and-10 season fell into his lap. Sacrifices had to be made.

Caldwell didn’t make it to 1985 in Boulder.

In ’85, Jimbo joined the staff of Howard Schnellenberger at Louisville.

Howard was brought in to work the magic he had at Miami in 1983. After a botched move leaving the Hurricanes for the dying USFL, Schnellenberger took the head coaching spot at Louisville. Caldwell was one of his first hires.

Just two years earlier, Schnellenberger had amazed the college football world by winning the national title at Miami in the Orange Bowl, 31-30 over Nebraska. In a separate piece on our website here, you can read about Howard’s career in South Florida and about THAT game.

No such duplication at Louisville in ’85.

The Cardinals went 2-and-9 and Caldwell was off again.

Four jobs in seven years; all crappy.

His first go-round as a head coach in ANYTHING was not exactly the stuff of legends.

In 1993, Caldwell was named head man at Wake Forest University becoming the first African-American to run a program in the ACC.

After a 2-and-9 debut, things went DOWNHILL at the Wake. Wake… apropos.

In his next seven seasons along tobacco road, Caldwell had ONE winning campaign and one bowl victory. His overall record at Wake Forest was a less-than-lovely, 26-63.

Not real sure how he even LASTED eight years at that football powerhouse.

Oh, yeah— that’s right. It’s NOT a football powerhouse.

He was out the door at Wake the same year Moeller got “carte blanche” in Allen Park.

The NFL came a callin’ in 2001.

Much of the rest of his story is positive. Or, at least more positive than the first half of his coaching cache. Then again, ANYTHING would have to be more positive than THAT journey through gridiron hell.

Even typing it was painful.

Joining Tony Dungy’s staff in Tampa, Caldwell worked with QB’s Brad Johnson and Shaun King. He definitely made both better quarterbacks. Johnson led the Bucs to the Super Bowl in 2002.

On that staff was Marinelli and his son-in-law Joe Barry and future Steelers’ coach Mike Tomlin.

Caldwell also had a positive experience in his gig prior to the Wake. He worked for Joe Paterno at Penn State from ’86 to 92. It’s what attracted the Deacons to him.

Dungy liked him enough to take him along to Indianapolis

Famous now for leaving before the Bucs went to the Promised Land in ’02, Dungy booked to the Colts and Caldwell joined as QB coach and assistant head coach. It began his odyssey with Peyton Manning.

Manning has been glowing in his respect of Caldwell; even offering an endorsement to the Lions when asked about the Beloit, Wisconsin native.

Dungy, Caldwell and Manning went on to win Super Bowl XLI in Miami Gardens over Lovie Smith and the Bears, 29-17. Peyton was MVP of that Super Bowl.

A full year before he retired, Dungy made it clear that he wanted Caldwell to replace him.

On January 12, 2009 it happened.

Four days before his 54th birthday, Caldwell had his first NFL head coaching assignment.

He set an NFL record by winning his first 14 games. Manning was unstoppable and it looked like the Colts were on their way to the second perfect 16-and-0 regular season in NFL history. Tom Brady and the Patriots had done it in 2007.

That is NOT to be confused with the Lions tacking down the first perfectly WINLESS awful season in NFL history when they went 0-and-16 in 2008 under Caldwell’s buddy, Marinelli.

By orders of GM Bill Polian, Indy rested many of the starters in anticipation of the playoffs. Even though Manning did play in the Week 16 game vs. the Jets, New York beat the Colts, 29-15 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

In the finale at Buffalo, Manning gave way to Curtis Painter and the Colts were blasted by the Bills, 30-7.

14-and-2.

Not a bad start for Caldwell as head man in Indy.

With Manning back at full steam, the Colts rolled through the Ravens and Jets in the playoffs to once again hit football’s main stage.

On February 7th, the rookie coach and his All-Pro QB met up with Sean Payton and Drew Brees in Super Bowl XLIV. New Orleans outscored Indy 25-7 in the second half in Miami Gardens, where the Colts had won a few years earlier, and won it 31-17.

Tracy Porter’s 74 yard interception return of a Manning pass iced it for the Saints. It was Peyton’s one mistake on a decent offensive day.

Caldwell was upset because his team just couldn’t score enough to douse the Saints flame.

Indianapolis returned to the playoffs in 2010.

Struggling with a 6-and-6 mark after an overtime loss to the Cowboys, mostly because of some shoddy defense, Manning REALLY turned it on and won the final four games. He matched his total of 33 touchdown passes from the 14-and-2 season. The 450 completions was by far a Manning career high as was his 4,700 yards passing.

At age 34, Manning was getting BETTER.

Much of that had to do with Caldwell.

In a tight game on wildcard Saturday, the Jets avenged their loss to Indy the year before. Nick Folk kicked the winning field goal and Rex Ryan danced off the field at Lucas Oil with a 17-16 road upset.

One and done for Caldwell in the 2010 post-season.

Enter Peyton Manning’s injury.

By now, we all know that 2011 was a waste product for the Indy Colts. Caldwell fell on the sword with Manning out. From jump, everyone felt that if Manning’s neck was the real issue then it was solid that the Colts would basically…. Uh, SUCK.

Sure enough, the Colts… sucked.

As good a quarterback guru that Caldwell was, he couldn’t make ice cream out of the you-know-what that Painter, Kerry Collins and ex-Lion Dan Orlovsky were.
Painter was never starting QB material. Collins was 39 years old. Orlovsky… was an ex-Lion! He played during the 0-and-16 season. Orlovsky was responsible for an 0-and-7 portion of that winless Detroit nightmare.

Indy started 0-and-13 and was in danger of matching the Lions.

Painter and Collins had given it the old college try before Caldwell turned to Orlovsky.

Imagine TURNING to Dan Orlovsky to save the day??

Credit Big Dan with coming through. He beat both Tennessee and Houston to make sure the Lions would remain kings of the winless season. Orlovsky lost the final game of the season to Jacksonville as the Manning-less Colts finished 2-and-14.

What a difference life was without Peyton Manning.

No playoffs since 2001 was the end result and worst regular season for the franchise since 1991. ONE day after the loss to the Jaguars, owner Jim Irsay fired both Polian and his son, Chris Polian. Bill had been with the Colts since 1997.

Five days after Irsay axed the Polian family, Caldwell was given walking papers too.

Two months later, Manning was released and moved on to Denver.
Caldwell was un-employed for exactly two weeks.

John Harbaugh hired him in Baltimore to tutor Joe Flacco. The Ravens had the pieces in place but needed Flacco to go to the next level. Harbaugh believed Caldwell could get him there.

On December 9th, the Ravens lost to the Redskins in OT and Harbaugh fired Cam Cameron as offensive coordinator. He gave Caldwell the keys to the offense. It was somewhat unusual since Baltimore was 9-and-4 even with the defeat in Washington. Harbaugh and GM Ozzie Newsome didn’t want to see many more losses so Cameron got the ziggy.

Next up was Denver.

Caldwell got to see his pal Manning from the opposing side. Flacco had a better day than Peyton, but the Broncos won, 34-17.

The Ravens finished 2012 with a win over the Peyton’s brother Eli and the Giants and then a loss at Cincinnati.

10-and-6 was good enough to earn the AFC South divisional championship.

Baltimore knocked off the upstart and surprising Colts with new QB Andrew Luck to set up the rematch with Peyton.

Flacco shined at Mile High.

He threw three touchdowns and no picks while Ray Rice rushed for 131 yards. The Ravens upset Manning and the Broncos in Denver in that classic double overtime game, 38-35.

Caldwell was back in the AFC Championship Game.

The new Ravens’ offensive coordinator perfected a game plan for Flacco. He was once again— stellar.

Three more TD passes and NO interceptions trumped Tom Brady in New England. All three scoring strikes, two to Anquan Boldin and one to Dennis Pitta, came in the second half. Baltimore’s crazy defense led by Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, held Brady to zero in the final 30 minutes.

28-13 Ravens. Caldwell was back in the Super Bowl.

The WORLD saw the lights go out at the Louisiana Superdome but NOT on the Ravens.

Flacco and Colin Kaepernick staged a “Battle Royale” on offense but for the third straight game, Flacco was nearly flawless. He passed for three more touchdowns without any picks and the Ravens were Super Bowl champs, 34-31 over San Francisco in the “Harbaugh Game.”

John versus his brother Jim was the main storyline.

Jim Caldwell’s effort went largely un-noticed.

As the full-time O.C. for John Harbaugh this past season, and now with TWO Super Bowl rings in tow, Caldwell didn’t quite have the year he hoped for.

Neither did Joe Flacco.

Quite frankly, the loss of Lewis and Reed took a major toll on the Baltimore defense. Manning and the Broncos pounded the Ravens in the 2013 opener, 49-27. The defense got better but the losses mounted.

Harbaugh and the Ravens came to Ford Field on Monday, December 16th. The Lions needed a win in the worst way to keep their playoff hopes alive. Ditto for Baltimore.

Despite going 20-for-38 with no interceptions, Flacco couldn’t get the Ravens into the end zone against Ndamukong Suh, Nick Fairley and the Lions defense.

Flacco moved the Ravens as far as he needed too.

Justin Tucker kicked SIX field goals including the winner with no time left from 61 yards.

A SIXTY-ONE yard field goal beat Detroit.

Jim Caldwell remembers it well.

Who knew that as he left Ford Field after the Monday Night game on ESPN, that Caldwell would be coming back just about one month later?
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Mr. Caldwell.

The Ravens lost their final two games and missed out on the playoffs just like the Lions did.

Schwartz was told his services were no longer required and the search was on for a new coach… AGAIN.

Caldwell wanted back in

He was the first one to interview and impressed the Lions’ brass. I use “brass” loosely.

Without really tipping their hand, the media and pundits and twitter world ran amuck with rumors that it was Ken Whisenhunt’s “job to lose.”

Uh, yeah.

As Whisenhunt was signing his new contract to coach the Titans, Mayhew and Lewand double-backed to their three other candidates.

Only Caldwell emerged.

Did the Lions rush to ink Caldwell as to not look foolish about their love for “The Whiz?”

No, I don’t think so.

When you look at his body of work, he fits many criteria.
He can work with Matthew Stafford to make him a better QB a la Flacco, Johnson and even Manning.

He has TWO Super Bowl rings to flash.

Caldwell becomes just the third Lions’ head coach to have been a head coach in a Super Bowl. McCafferty is one and Ross is the other having led San Diego against the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX, 1995.

With Calvin Johnson, Reggie Bush and other weapons, there is no doubt an offense ready to explode like we’ve seen it can. Caldwell also has the benefit of the Number 10 pick in the April NFL Draft.

He may not be the funniest guy and his pressers won’t be a night at the “Chuckle Hut,” but I’m willing to see what he’s got because I am a masochist of a high order!

There’s also the caution flag because… it’s the LIONS!

Without question, Jim Caldwell deserved a chance to coach another team. Seattle is Pete Carroll’s THIRD chance as an NFL head coach and look at him now. Tom Coughlin got another chance after Jacksonville, John Fox after Carolina; Lovie is now in Tampa.

The NFL landscape is littered with guys who got second, third and even fourth chances.

It could have been a lot dicier for Lions fans.

Schwartz and Marinelli followed Mariucci.

At least Schwartz had been a coordinator; Rod didn’t even have THAT on his resume. There was no way the Lions could have trotted out a guy without some head coaching experience or without Super Bowl ties and expect to “Restore the Roar” with the next victim.

In 2009, I spent some time with Schwartz on the golf course at Warwick Hills during the final Buick Open. It was just me and him. I asked if he knew his Lions history.

“Oh sure,” he said. “Bill Keenist (Lions PR man) got me a book and everything. I know what’s gone on here and I want to change it.”

“So, that whole 1957 thing means what to you?” I asked.

“Nothing,” said Schwartz. “This is 2009. I can only worry about now and tell the city that I will do everything I can to bring a winner here.”

After 0-and-16, what else could he say?

It didn’t take long for Jimbo to figure out all that glitters is NOT gold in this town when it comes to pro football.

The NEW Jimbo has no ties here.

He will have to learn it just like Schwartz did. Maybe Keenist will get HIM a book too. Anyone that has made Detroit their home for any length of time knows how skeptical we all get about the Lions. Caldwell will have to avoid, if he can, hearing that horrible phrase that pays.

Same old Lions.

If he CAN avoid it, then he has done well. But, he needs to take the Lions to the Super Bowl. Plain and simple. He’s gone with two franchises, he has to make it a third. Anything less is failure with a capital “F” and he just joins that long list beginning with Gilmer and ending with Schwartz.

Goats… in a long line of goats.

Enjoy your time here Jim Caldwell; make your money. Strap yourself in because no matter what happens, it’s going to be a bumpy ride and I’m not talking about all those new potholes out there.

You can be a BIG hero, sir. You are now on the clock. Wake us when you have something going.

As Bruce Willis says in “Die Hard”

Welcome to the party, pal!