Lions approval poll: Jim Caldwell (October 2016)

When we last checked in with the public opinion of Jim Caldwell, the Detroit Lions were on the verge of losing their season. Caldwell had led the team to a disappointing 1-2 start and had personally blamed himself for the losing record. Little did we know at the time that rock bottom would actually happen the following week when the Bears would pick up their only win over Detroit. At the time, just 22 percent of voters approved of the job Caldwell had done.

Since then, however, the Lions have completely turned things around. Detroit is riding a three-game winning streak and all of the wins were against teams with winning records heading into their matchup with the Lions. Caldwell deserves a lot of credit for these wins, too. Though he wasn’t the one driving the Lions at the end of the game for a go-ahead score, he has been uncharacteristically aggressive at times. The Lions are now 5-5 on fourth downs.

Additionally, Caldwell deserves some praise for keeping spirits high when it seemed like the season was lost by the first week in October. Detroit is now 4-3 and just a half game out of a playoff spot. No one would have predicted that after the Lions’ 1-3 start

There are still some reasons to be critical of Caldwell. The Lions continue to blow double digits leads with regularity and seem to come out flat during at least one half per game. There are occasional lapses of judgement in time management, but for the most part, he has been average in that aspect of game management. Also, he wears two watches and our own Ryan Mathews hates that.

Anyway, here’s a look at Caldwell’s up-and-own approval rating during his two and a half years with the Lions.

August 2016: 22% approval
January 2016: 59% approval
December 2015: 12% approval
November 2015: 8% approval
July 2015: 91% approval
January 2015: 89% approval
December 2014: 85% approval
November 2014: 87% approval
October 2014: 94% approval
September 2014: 96% approval
August 2014: 67% approval
June 2014: 77% approval

Now it’s time to revisit the court of opinion on Caldwell. What do you think of the job he’s doing now that the Lions are 4-3? Does he deserve credit for Detroit’s turnaround or is that on the players? Have you seen a transformation in his coaching acumen or is he still making the same mistakes? Vote below and sound off in the comment section to tell us why.