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ALLEN PARK — Lions general manager Bob Quinn said he made the decision late on Sunday night to fire coach Jim Caldwell. The decision was his alone.

“I felt there was a need to change the leadership in this team. Starting today I’ll be leading that search to hire a new head coach for the Lions,’’ Quinn said at a New Year’s Day press conference.

The Lions beat the Packers 35-11 on Sunday to finish the season at 9-7 for the second straight year.

He said the decision did not rest on one factor.

“I just think that when you look at our record over the last couple years, since I’ve been here, we didn’t beat the really good teams. Our record was above average, 9-7, the last two years but our record against the better teams in the league has not been that good,’’ Quinn said.

Offensive line coach Ron Prince was also fired. The rest of the staff is under contract, but their future will be determined by the new head coach. That includes offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter.

Quinn was hired two years ago and kept Caldwell. The goal was clear for both of them — win a Super Bowl championship.

“At the end of the day I want to take this team to the next level. To me that’s winning championships, that’s winning playoff games and that’s winning the Super Bowl,’’ Quinn said.

“Ultimately I’m the person in charge of football operation here at the Lions. Ultimately the record that we’ve had the last two years is on me.’’

Quinn said there is no timetable. He would not name candidates and would not confirm whether defensive coordinator Teryl Austin will interview for the opening. He said good coaches come in all shapes and sizes. Having head coaching experience is not a prerequisite. Also, he said (when asked) he would consider college coaches.

Quinn and team president Rod Wood will conduct the interviews which will exclude the ownership. Also, players will not be a part of the process. When Caldwell was hired four years ago, Matthew Stafford was involved in the interviews.

Also, unlike the Martin Mayhew regime, Quinn said he will update the media following each coaching interview over the coming weeks.

Quinn opened his remarks with kind words for Caldwell.

“Coach Caldwell is a good football coach, a good man, a good husband, father, grandfather. On behalf of the entire organization I want to thank him personally for his service over the last four  years,’’ Quinn said. “Jim has taught me a lot, coming in as a first-time general manager, we spent a lot of time together the last two years. He helped me through that, I want to thank him for that.

“Jim has a great work ethic. There’s not a day that has gone by that his car wasn’t in the parking lot before mine, he put a lot of time and energy into this team and where we are today is part of what Jim did,’’ Quinn said. “I’m proud to say that I worked with him.’’

ALLEN PARK — It was a tough New Year’s morning at the Detroit Lions facility after Jim Caldwell was fired.

The coach made a huge impact on the players on and off the field, although he failed in his mission to bring a championship to Detroit.

“Obviously anytime something like that happens, it’s disappointing and tough, a guy you worked really closely with for four years and you know the amount of work he put in and the kind of person he was,. It’s tough to have it end that way,’’ quarterback Matthew Stafford said on locker clean-out day.

Six other thoughts from Stafford on Caldwell and the future of the offense:

1. Caldwell worked with Peyton Manning with the Indianapolis Colts starting off as his quarterbacks coach. When he was hired he said he didn’t think Stafford was broken but thought there were ways he could improve. That happened during Caldwell’s four-year tenure.

“He’s been great, he’s as level-headed of a guy as I’ve ever been around, he understands the position of quarterback really well and was great for me and great for a lot of guys on offense just to bounce ideas off of,’’ Stafford said. “So I have a ton of respect for him, just the way he carried himself, the way he coached us, the way he treated everybody, he’s a great guy and a great coach.’’

2. There’s a chance the Lions will retain offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter when they bring in a new coach. They also fired offensive line coach Ron Prince on Monday. If Stafford had a vote — and he might — he would like Cooter to stay.

“Jim Bob and I have a great relationship. Ever since he’s had the opportunity to take the reins this offense has moved in the right direction, in my opinion,’’ Stafford said. “I feel like I’m playing some of the best football in my career. I would love the opportunity to keep working with him. He’s been great for us and great for me.’’

3.  Ever since he arrived the players have respected Caldwell on and off the field. That never changed. “Myself included, he provided a great example for guys. I think a lot of guys in this locker room, we had a lot of young guys on this team that came into the NFL not knowing ‘Hey what’s this all about?’ For their first taste as a head coach to be a guy who is as good of a person as coach Caldwell was,’’ Stafford said. “It’s a great treat for those guys to come in and have a coach who cares about his players as much as coach Caldwell did and set as good of an example as he did not only on the field but on the field is a huge positive for a lot of guys’ careers.’’

4. Even though Caldwell is gone he will have a lasting impact on the quarterback (and likely most of the players on the roster.) “There’s so many things, I spent a lot of time with him. His demeanor, as calm as he was, I think had a lot of impact on how we played. No matter what the situation of the game was, not matter what the situation of the season was, we went out there and attacked our job and tried to do the best we could,’’ Stafford said. “That’s what he preached daily — you can’t worry about all the other stuff you’ve got to go out there and no matter what the situation is go out there and play. I think we did that.’’

5. Stafford had plenty of late-game and fourth-quarter comebacks before Caldwell arrived in Detroit but he was more successful in that aspect with Caldwell. Stafford and the Lions had eight of them in the 2016 season and four this season. There’s a good reason for that.

“They were situations we practiced over and over and over again. They showed up in games and we executed. You look at a lot of teams and a lot of games in the NFL that are decided in those situations and some teams execute them well and some teams don’t,’’ Stafford said. “For the most part I think we did a pretty darned good job with those and he had a lot to do with that.”

6. Stafford was invited by former general manager Martin Mayhew to be involved in the process when Jim Caldwell was hired. Stafford is willing but does not know if he will be involved in the search process with GM Bob Quinn.

“We’ll see, haven’t been a part of a head coaching search with this front office before Obviously got to sit down with some of the guys the last time, appreciated that opportunity. Don’t know if it will happen again,’’ Stafford said. “If they want to make them available to me I’d absolutely be all for it, I know it’s going to be their decision and go from there.

ALLEN PARK — After firing Jim Caldwell on Monday, Lions general manager Bob Quinn begins the process of replacing him.

Quinn’s background with the Patriots, makes it a natural assumption that he will look at New England’s defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.

The Lions have requested to talk to Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Vrabel would be available immediately since the Texans are not in the playoffs.

A request has also been submitted to talk to Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.

None of the three have served as an NFL head coach.

Quinn will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. on Monday.

Here’s a look at three of the top candidates.

— Patricia, 43, is a three-time Super Bowl champion with the Patriots where he has worked since 2004. He started as an offensive assistant and has served as defensive coordinator since 2012. In the 2017 season, the Patriots defense was ranked 29th in the NFL, allowing 366.0 yards per game. Patricia apparently is not a huge fan of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.  After the Patriots won Super Bowl LI, Patricia wore a shirt that featured Goodell with a red clown nose. He wore the shirt while deplaning at Logan International Airport in Boston. (See photo above, courtesy of NBC Boston.)

— Vrabel, 42, played defensive end at Ohio State. He spent 2017 as Houston Texans defensive coordinator after working as the Texans linebackers coach from 2014 to 2016. The Texans finished the 2017 regular season with the 20th ranked NFL defense, allowing 346.6 yards per game.  He coached at Ohio State from 2011-2013.

— Wilks, 48, started coaching in the college ranks and moved to the NFL in 2006 where he served as the Chicago Bears defensive backs coach until 2008. He had the same position with the San Diego Chargers from 2009-2011. Wilks joined the Panthers in 2012 as defensive backs coach and served as defensive coordinator in the 2017 season. The Panthers are the NFL’s seventh best defensive team allowing just 317.1 yards per game.