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- Here's what Jim Caldwell's agent had to say about the Detroit Lions' hire:
Dennis Coleman, agent for #Lions coach Jim Caldwell: "This is the job he wanted all along. It takes him back to his Midwestern roots."
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 14, 2014
- Caldwell turns 59 on Thursday, so I'd say this is a pretty good early birthday present for him.
- The Lions sent a plane to Baltimore early Wednesday morning to pick up Caldwell. According to Ian Rapoport, Caldwell only recently arrived in Baltimore from Arizona, so he's been all over the country as of late.
- Barry Sanders and Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith both tweeted about the Caldwell hire:
Congrats to the @DetroitLionsNFL and #CoachCaldwell - looking forward to great things in 2014! #ROAR
— Barry Sanders (@BarrySanders) January 14, 2014Congrats to Coach Caldwell...great coach/teacher and even better person..he always taught us something new..he will do well in Detroit
— Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) January 14, 2014
- Caldwell got a lot of good reviews when the Lions were seeking out information on him during their coaching search.
Plenty of reasons why Lions picked Caldwell. Among them -- strong references from Tony Dungy, Peyton Manning, John Harbaugh, Ozzie Newsome.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 14, 2014
- This is a pretty depressing stat:
New Lions head coach Jim Caldwell has more career playoff wins (2) than the Lions organization over the last 55 years combined (1-10 ).
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 14, 2014
- As voted on by their teammates, Nate Burleson received the Mike Utley Spirit Award and Dominic Raiola got the Joe Schmidt Leadership Award.
- The Lions' local TV ratings went up a decent amount from 2012 to 2013. I suppose actually being in the hunt for a playoff spot throughout the season will keep people watching on a more consistent basis.
