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Detroit Lions fire former Colts coach Jim Caldwell after four seasons

Detroit Lions fire former Colts coach Jim Caldwell after four seasons
Posted at 7:50 AM, Jan 01, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-01 08:25:00-05

DETROIT (WXYZ) -- The Detroit Lions have fired former Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell after four seasons.

Reports initially surfaced on Saturday that Sunday's season finale against Green Bay (a 35-11 Lions win) would be Caldwell's last game as head coach.

Caldwell, hired in 2014 to replace Jim Schwartz, compiled a 36-28 regular-season record with the Lions, including a 9-7 record in 2017. He also coached Detroit in playoff losses to Dallas in the 2014-15 NFC Wild Card round and Seattle in the 2016-17 NFC Wild Card round.

Detroit's 7-9 finish in 2015 marked the only time during Caldwell's tenure that the team finished below .500.

Caldwell was given a contract extension before the 2017 season -- initially reported as a three-year extension, but later turned out to be a one-year extension with an option for additional seasons.

In three seasons as the Colts' head coach, Caldwell went 26-22. He was fired after the 2011 season following a 2-14 finish. He was replaced with Chuck Pagano, who was also fired this weekend. 

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