Lions Lowdown

ALLEN PARK — Every Lions player was impacted by Jim Caldwell’s presence from the veterans to rookies like running back Tion Green.

Proof?

When reporters were walking away after a lively chat with Green on Monday, he said, “Remember about the high cost of low living.”

That’s a Caldwell phrase, a reminder to his team to stay out of trouble.

Green, an undrafted rookie, hugged Caldwell after the Lions beat the Packers on Sunday in what turned out to be the coach’s final game.

A hug was certainly in order for the running back who was on the 53-man roster but didn’t get a chance to play until Week 13. Green didn’t know if it was Caldwell’s final game. He just wanted to hug him.

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

“I told him when I hugged him yesterday, “Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity.’ Because statistics say, come in with as many as five running backs on the roster, 13 weeks, I thought I was going to be gone any minute. And we were hot early on too. Coach Caldwell gave me an opportunity, I can never thank him enough. Like I told him yesterday, “Thank you so much, you pretty much jump-started my career for me.’ And putting me in the situations he put me in, and keeping me and trusting me and knowing this is the potential this kid has.’’

Throwing Green into the action late in the season was part of Caldwell’s plan all along.

“That man, from the minute I met him on my 30 visit when I came, I was the last visit they had. (Teams are allowed 30 visits before the draft.) He told me, ‘I’m going to take care of you, just trust me.’ He said it was a blind leap of faith. I’m like, ‘What do you mean?’ You have to trust somebody without knowing them as well. He said, ‘Trust that I’m going to take care of you.’

“When he gave me my phone call after the draft, and was like, ‘Look, if you sign with us I promise you I’m going to do this, I’m going to do that, it’s going to take a moment,’’ Green said. “He told me the plan and it worked. So man, I wish the best for Coach Caldwell on and off the field. He was a great guy, a really great guy.’’

Green plans to make a quick visit home to Miami and return within a few days.

“I’m really excited about the offseason. I’m going to stay here, I kept my place in Detroit. I’m going to work on my body and my nutrition, try to develop myself, work on hip mobility, find my weaknesses and continue to try to get better,’’ Green said.

Green could earn a bigger role in the running game next year, although there are plenty of variables.

Even though he was only active in the final five games, he finished as third in rushing yards with 42 carries for 165 yards (3.9 yards per catch).

Green got a real feel for the game in those games.

“It was tremendous, it took me to another different confidence level. I feel like the NFL is all about trust — are you dependable? And it showed me a lot of times in a lot of close games, for a minute, and my coaches left me out there, gave me more opportunities, left me in the pass game, it gave me a lot of confidence that those guys were trusting me and for myself,’’ Green said. “I developed a lot of confidence knowing I was trusted to be out there.’’

His best memory is easy to recall. It was his first NFL carry, in the 44-20 loss at the Ravens.

On first-and-10, he got the ball and scampered for 33 yards. He scored his first touchdown in that same game on a 6-yard run. His mom had flown to Baltimore for the game. It was a storybook beginning to an NFL career.

“It’s like weird — that whole experience not knowing if I was going to be up or down, getting my opportunity and I remember my coach was like, “Thirty-eight, go in.’ I remember seeing the offensive line’s faces and T.J. Lang telling me, “Come on, be our spark, you’re our spark.’ I remember my first carry, just running free. You couldn’t start off a better first game, first career carry, getting the ball running. I was like finally I can showcase what I can do,’’ Green said.

He got advice from Theo Riddick before the game.

“Theo was like, ‘You’ve been doing it your whole life, it’s football. At the end of the day if you’re going to make a mistake make it at full-speed,’’ Green said. “He just said, ‘Tion, run hard and run strong.’’’

He did just that.

Typically an NFL player makes the biggest leap between year one and year two.

Green plans on working hard to make that happen.

“I’m a competitor. Those 13 weeks (when he wasn’t active) were hard, knowing that in a lot of situations I could’ve helped the team,’’ Green said. “Going into this year I want no excuses. I want to show guys I’m trustworthy, third-and-1, fourth-and-goal, goal line, whatever the case may be, first down, second down, third down, that those guys could leave me out there. It’s something I’m really working on trying to learn, especially with the new coaching staff coming in.’’

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.