SPORTS

Ford on Caldwell's future: 'I haven't gotten that far'

Josh Katzenstein
The Detroit News
Lions owner Martha Firestone Ford talks on the sidelines as the team warms up before taking on the Bears Sunday.

Chicago — In a brief and rare interview after the Lions' win over the Bears Sunday, team owner Martha Firestone Ford said she has not yet made a decision about the future of coach Jim Caldwell.

"I haven't gotten that far yet," she said outside the visitors' locker room in Soldier Field.

With a victory Sunday, Caldwell improved his record with the Lions to 18-14 as the team went 11-5 last year and 7-9 this season.

Caldwell's job security has been a topic of debate for months because the men who hired him, former president Tom Lewand and general manager Martin Mayhew, were both fired in early November.

After the game, Caldwell repeatedly declined to discuss his status because it's out of his control. President Rod Wood said the next GM will decide on Caldwell's future, as he's said multiple times since his hire in November.

"One of their main functions of their job is selecting the coach, and we're going to follow that and (it's) not going to change," Wood said.

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To the Lions players, the possibility of losing Caldwell is a shock. They stand behind their coach and have been impressed with his ability to lead a turnaround in the second half of the season after a 1-7 start.

"Guys want to play for him," linebacker Tahir Whitehead said. "I respect him as a man, as a coach and an all-around mentor and role model. I believe he will be here in Detroit, and I expect him back here in Detroit."

Wood declined to say how the 6-2 record in the second half could impact Caldwell's standing, saying only that "obviously we like winning better than losing."

Players said Caldwell told them he was proud of them for their improvement this season and he told them to take care of themselves this offseason. There wasn't some long drawn out goodbye from either Caldwell or the players.

"In our head, he's still our head coach until someone tells us differently," defensive end Darryl Tapp said.

"For somebody we plan on seeing tomorrow, we don't say anything different — fingers crossed."