Detroit Lions

Sources: Lions ownership wants Jim Caldwell to return for 2016

Published Jan. 3, 2016 1:17 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Detroit Lions want head coach Jim Caldwell to return for a third season in 2016, according to FOX Sports NFL insider Jay Glazer. However, ownership is leaving the final decision up to the team's next general manager, who has yet to be hired.

Glazer discusses Caldwell's situation at the 1:24 mark in the video below:

With "Black Monday" looming, @JayGlazer takes us through the Coaching Carousel https://t.co/Eh6RRJEfwz
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 3, 2016

Caldwell led the Lions to an 11-5 record and a playoff berth in his first season as head coach, but this year has been a major disappointment. Detroit lost seven of its first eight games, making his team the NFL's worst at the season's midpoint.

Former offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and two O-line assistants were fired after a Week 7 loss to the Vikings. Team owner Martha Ford signaled a franchise overhaul when she fired GM Martin Mayhew and president Tom Lewand following a disastrous trip to play the Kansas City Chiefs in London a week later.

Caldwell pulled his team together in the second half of the season, though. He led the Lions to five wins and only two losses, and one of those losses was to the Packers when quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw a miraculous, 61-yard Hail Mary on an un-timed down to win the game in Week 13.