Author: Paula Pasche

ALLEN PARK — Matthew Stafford certainly has his thoughts about coach Jim Caldwell who is on the hot seat after the Lions did not reach the playoffs this season.

Stafford said if GM Bob Quinn asks he’d be happy to share his thoughts on Caldwell.

“If he asks my opinion I will tell him I appreciate everything coach Caldwell does. I think he’s a really good leader of men, I think he does a great job in our locker room of getting us ready to play football and the rest is up to the players to go out there and make plays and win games,’’ Stafford said on Wednesday. “As far as any major details or anything like that I’ll keep that between Bob and myself. I think he understands what kind of guy coach Caldwell is too, he’s been around long enough to understand what he’s all about.’’

Stafford said he is not “crazy proactive” about working with the front office but is available.

“I think that’s the appropriate approach for a player. It’s not my profession to know what guy on what other team or in college runs a 40. It’s not what I spend my time on. I’m definitely available, dialogue has happened throughout the years and will probably continue to happen. Whether or not my opinion is taken seriously is not up to me I just go out there and play ball if they ask me something, they ask me something,’’ Stafford said.

Caldwell is wrapping up his fourth season with the Lions with a 35-28 regular season record. He’s brought the Lions to the playoffs in two of those four years.

The coach was hired by former GM Martin Mayhew in January 2014. When Quinn was hired in January 2016, his first big decision to keep Caldwell as coach. Both shared similar

Caldwell is the second coach Stafford has played for in Detroit. Jim Schwartz was brought in prior to Stafford’s rookie season to turn around the team that had just finished the 2008 season with a 0-16 record.

The Lions (8-7) host the Packers (7-8)  at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Ford Field.

ALLEN PARK — A Michigan sports editor, who is not in regular attendance at the Lions, has written a scathing column criticizing the fans and local media for being racist in their treatment of Lions coach Jim Caldwell.

Caldwell, who is wrapping up his fourth season with the Lions, is the franchise’s winningest coach. He owns a 35-28 record in the regular season and has brought the team to the playoffs in two of his four seasons.

Yet, he is on the hot seat and could be fired next week because the Lions (8-7) failed to reach the playoffs this season. He is not alone, several NFL coaches face the possibility of losing their jobs next week. The NFL is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league. Coaches understand this when they are hired.

Caldwell was asked this morning if he felt race was an issue in his dealings with the media who are in attendance on a daily basis.

His answer: “No.”

In fact, he reminded the media that he does not read our coverage.

When pressed on the issue, Caldwell said: “I’m not saying anything, I’m just answering his question. Why do I have to go into any more detail? It’s end of the story. (Fans) can read it and come to their own conclusion, it doesn’t have anything to do with how I respond.

“He asked me a question and I said, ‘No.’ That’s the way I feel. You’ve never heard me blame anything, at any point in time or have any excuses about anything we’ve ever done and I never will. I’ve been around a long time, my father wouldn’t allow me to do it when I was a kid and there’s no difference today.’’

Coaches are hired to be fired and Caldwell understands this. The color of a coach’s skin has absolutely nothing to do with the issue. Ask any member of the media who is in regular attendance at Caldwell’s press conferences. That includes me. We have gotten to know him in four years. Race has never been an issue with Caldwell or with how he is treated.

He understands if the team doesn’t perform, his job is on the line.

“It’s part of our business, it’s the way it goes,’’ Caldwell said.

ALLEN PARK >> Lions coach Jim Caldwell said today that he hasn’t had discussions about his future with general manager Bob Quinn.

At his weekly press conference on Tuesday, the coach said he and Quinn talk every day but nothing had changed about his job status since the 27-16 loss at Cincinnati on Sunday which eliminated Detroit from the playoffs.

“Everybody gets evaluated at the end of the year — players, coaches, schemes — that’s part of the process,’’ Caldwell said pointing out they have one more game.

The coach, who was hired in January 2014, has a 35-28 regular season record with the Lions. His best season was his first, when the Lions went 11-5 in 2014. Detroit has been to the playoffs in two of his four seasons.

On Sunday, the Lions (8-7) wrap up the season when they face the Green Bay Packers (7-8) at 1 p.m. at Ford Field.

Caldwell said he has no plans to rest starters, including Matthew Stafford, even though there are no playoff implications. He noted that they’ve played many young players throughout the season and he has no intention of taking extended looks at rookies or inexperienced players.

In other words, it’s another game week for Caldwell and he expects the best of his team.

“Just looking at that overall, I’m not concerned about how I feel, it doesn’t matter, the thing is, we’ve got a game to play, it’s an opportunity for our guys to get better. We’ve got 16 opportunities and you can’t take them for granted,’’ Caldwell said. “There’s a phrase in the Bible that says, ‘Lack no zeal in your work.’ Our guys are professionals they’ll go out there with the same kind of attitude they’ve had. There’s a lot of character on our team, there’s been a lot of situations in the course of the year when they’ve been behind they fight and they come back. There’s no quit, no give-up in this group.

“We anticipate that will be exactly the same in this last game. That’s important for us. So you don’t know what’s going to happen the next day or the next year, you have got to give your best and I think our guys will be committed to that,’’ Caldwell added.

The coach stayed away from evaluating the season since it’s not over. But he did say, “We’re just a little bit above average and a little bit above average is not good enough.”