Arguably the most desirable coaching vacancy of the NFL offseason has been filled, as the Detroit Lions hired Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell on Tuesday as their new head coach.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to report the hiring, which was confirmed by Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com.
Caldwell replaced Cam Cameron as offensive coordinator in Baltimore late last season and helped guide the Ravens to a Super Bowl title. Before that, he spent two successful seasons as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts — leading the team to an AFC championship in his first year — but was fired after finishing 2-14 in 2011, a season that was doomed by a neck injury to Peyton Manning.
In Detroit, Caldwell replaces Jim Schwartz, who managed just one winning season in five years at the Lions’ helm. Schwartz was fired Dec. 30 after the team lost six of its final seven games to finish the season 7-9.
While it hasn’t shown in the standings in recent years, the Lions are an immensely talented team, boasting one of the top receivers in the game in Calvin Johnson, a fearsome defensive front that includes Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley, and a quarterback in Matthew Stafford who is perennially among the league’s best in passing statistics.
