Jim Caldwell Will Be a Surprise Contender for Coach of the Year in 2015

Jim Caldwell isn’t someone who garners national attention.

His name doesn’t carry the same pizzazz that names such as Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll and John Harbaugh hold.

If you ask someone to name the early favorites for NFL Coach of the Year, he will assuredly overlook Caldwell. That’s been the story for most of his career.

In his inaugural season with the Detroit Lions, the team showed tremendous improvement under Caldwell’s guidance. This season, Caldwell continues his effort to transform the Lions from laughingstock to perennial playoff contender.

An improved roster mixed with Caldwell’s influence and ability to develop players makes him a strong candidate for coach of the year.

Caldwell’s resume is impressive: two Super Bowl championships as an assistant coach, and a 37-27 record and a Super Bowl appearance as head coach.

Despite leading the Lions to the playoffs and their best season in 23 years, Caldwell’s on-field success hasn’t translated into media popularity.

In the offseason, Pete Prisco of CBS Sports ranked the NFL’s coaches.

He ranked Caldwell No. 23 among coaches in the league, No. 12 among NFC head coaches and last in the NFC North, noting: “In his first season with the Lions, he helped lead them to the playoffs in 2014. He previously had three seasons with the Colts, going 26-22, but going to the Super Bowl in 2009. He has had double-digit victories in three of his four seasons as an NFL head coach.”

Not only do media outlets neglect Caldwell, but many dismiss his team.

After an 11-win season, many expect the organization to take a step back. Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press has the Lions finishing 9-7, Nate Davis of USA Today predicts 7-9, and Michael Rothstein of ESPN thinks the team finishes 8-8.

Even Lions fans doubted Caldwell initially.

Prior to his signing, many fans wanted the franchise to hire Ken Whisenhunt, the former Arizona Cardinals head coach. Even the front office seemed to favor Whisenhunt and reportedly had a private jet waiting to pick him up for an interview and presumably offer him the job.

The plane never left the airport, as Whisenhunt opted to sign with the Tennessee Titans. The Lions turned the page and settled for Caldwell.

In the minds of many fans, Caldwell was the backup plan.

A year-and-a-half later, fans are thankful Whisenhunt spurned the Lions.

Building a winner

No one should overlook the job Caldwell did in 2014.

He took a team that won just 11 games combined from 2012-2013 and matched that total in his first season with largely the same roster from the previous two years.

He took a middle-of-the-road defense and turned it into a strength. After the defense finished 16th in 2013, it developed into the No. 2 defense in the NFL in 2014.

According to NFL.com, the Lions defense ranked first in net rushing yards, second in total yards and third in points allowed.

The defense remains largely intact with notable departures being All-Pro Ndamukong Suh and the oft-injured Nick Fairley. General manager Martin Mayhew responded by trading for All-Pro Haloti Ngata and the up-and-coming Tyrunn Walker.

Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin told Birkett he believes the Lions can sustain their success this season: “I think we have some talent up front. We’ll be able to get the job done. It may look differently than maybe it did last year, but we’ll still be able to get the job done. We just have to make sure we get better every day as we go through training camp.”

Even with the loss of Suh, the convenience of being in a stable system should benefit the team. The players had to learn learn new terminology and a different system at this time last year. From a mental standpoint, the comfort level between the players and coaching staff should provide a smooth transition.

The staple of Austin’s defense is stopping the run, where the unit excelled in 2014, and the addition of Ngata ensures the drop-off won’t be significant. The area needing improvement is defending the pass, as the team ranked 13th in net passing according to NFL.com.

While the defensive line isn’t as talented as it was last year, the secondary should take a step forward.

Doug Farrar of Sports Illustrated ranked the Lions secondary as No. 2 in the NFC and seventh best in the NFL:

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Everybody stepped up, starting with the safety tandem of Glover Quin and James Ihedigbo. Both players were perfect fits for Austin’s aggressive but precise schemes. Quin is the centerfielder, while Ihedigbo is the enforcer against the run.

Veteran Rashean Mathis and youngster Darius Slay fit perfectly as the outside cornerbacks, with Slay showing huge progress in 2014. Cassius Vaughn, the primary slot cornerback, was the relative liability, and was signed by the Ravens in the off-season. Josh Wilson, Quandre Diggs and rookie Alex Carter are the prime candidates to take Vaughn’s place.

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Austin’s ability to make adjustments, the return of Stephen Tulloch and the continued development of Darius Slay and Ezekiel Ansah should help the Lions defense remain dominant.

An elite defense gives any team a chance at victory, and winning games is essential criteria when considering candidates for coach of the year.

Improvement

Statistically, the Lions offense took a step back in 2014.

Even though Matthew Stafford didn’t put up gaudy passing numbers or throw tons of touchdown passes, he improved under Caldwell’s tutelage.

His 12 interceptions were the fewest he’s thrown in a full season, and Stafford helped rally the Lions from fourth-quarter deficits five times.

The front office dedicated a ton of resources toward improving the offense. After giving up 45 sacks last season, the offensive line has received upgrades. Travis Swanson takes over at center, first-round draft choice Laken Tomlinson is the new left guard, and the Lions traded for Manny Ramirez to improve depth.

The Lions ranked 28th in rushing yards, but an improved offensive line and the addition of second-round pick Ameer Abdullah should rejuvenate the run game.

With Calvin Johnson, Golden Tate and the expected emergence of Eric Ebron, the Lions offense should return to its high-powered capability.

Also, stability at kicker should help as the Lions converted just 25 of 38 attempts.

Barring unforeseen disaster or devastating injuries, the Lions offense should be vastly improved.

Character

The Lions have a winning mentality.

Under Jim Schwartz, many labelled the Lions a dirty team that made stupid penalties and didn’t know how to win.

Caldwell replaced that perception with one of character.

From the moment the team hired him, he promoted a “find a way to win” mentality. He preaches accountability through the locker room, and it’s led to suspensions and fines for anyone who breaks team rules.

Wide receiver Jeremy Ross told Rothstein that Caldwell’s calm demeanor has rubbed off on the team:

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He’s our flight attendant. When there’s a lot of turbulence on the plane, you look to the flight attendant to see whether you should panic or not. If the flight attendants are calm and they are not worrying when the plane is going all over the place, you’re like, “OK, they’ve been here before. They know it’s going to be OK.”

If they are freaking out, then you’re freaking out, like, “Dang, is there something I don’t know?” So him, when you look at him, he’s calm. He’s reserved. At halftime if we’re down, he’s not like, “Ahh, we gotta go.” He’s just like, “Hey, let’s get better and let’s make plays and its simple.”

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Besides his calm demeanor, Caldwell offers quotes, stories and life lessons for his players while treating them like men rather than taking a drill-sergeant approach.

Ben Shpigel of the New York Times reported that before last season, Caldwell took each position group out to dinner separately in order to become acquainted with them on a personal level.

Veteran cornerback Rashean Mathis told Shpigel that Caldwell fosters a unique environment: “In 12 years, that’s the first time I’ve been to dinner with my head coach. Ask any guy in this locker room, would they mind living in his house growing up? They would say no. They would accept him as a father.”

Development

Caldwell’s ability to bring the best out of individuals is apparent.

Under his tutelage, young players such as Slay, Corey Fuller, Tahir Whitehead and Theo Riddick have taken steps forward. In 2014, little-known players such as Andre Fluellen and George Johnson flourished in Caldwell’s system. Finally, veterans such as Golden Tate, Glover Quin, James Ihedigbo and DeAndre Levy played at high levels.

As a rookie in 2013, Slay gave up big plays and was benched multiple times. During his sophomore campaign, Slay solidified himself as one of the best young cornerbacks in the NFL. According to Kyle Meinke of MLive.com, Slay’s statistics were among the best in the league:

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He started every game, piling up 61 tackles and a team-best 17 passes defended. He allowed a completion on just 57.3 percent of the passes thrown his way, which was ninth best among corners who played at least 1,000 snaps.

He allowed a passer rating of 81.1, which was seventh best.

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In 2013, Fuller was a raw project who couldn’t make the roster, but under Caldwell, he developed into the team’s No. 3 receiver. He had just 14 receptions for 252 yards, but his development is on the fast track.

After recording just eight tackles in 16 games during 2013, Whitehead won the starting outside linebacker job in training camp last year and excelled on the field. He recorded 86 tackles and filled in admirably at middle linebacker when Tulloch fell to injury.

Fluellen and Johnson revived their careers with the Lions and played important snaps for the No. 2 defense in the NFL.

The continued development of the above-mentioned names to go along with new players emerging will benefit the Lions’ goals of winning as many games as possible.

Coach of the year

Under Schwartz, the Lions took on the fiery, bad-boy persona of their coach. The results were disastrous, and off-field incidents were just as damaging.

With Caldwell, the Lions have a coach who fosters a winning environment built off character, respect and accountability. The results are a winning mindset, victories on the field and players willing to do anything for a respected coach.

The talent is there, the proper assistants are in place, and the sky is the limit.

Still, the biggest hurdle is getting past Green Bay, and the Lions haven’t won in Wisconsin since 1991.

Another double-digit-win season and winning the NFC North should be enough to make national analysts look Caldwell’s way.

Follow Chris Hauler on Twitter.