DETROIT -- The change has been incremental, not transformational. Every week, quarterback Matthew Stafford looks a bit sharper, a bit more comfortable and a bit more relaxed in the Detroit Lions offense.

There’s a reason for that, too: Jim Bob Cooter.

The relationship between Cooter -- previously the Lions' quarterback coach and now the team's offensive coordinator -- and Stafford has been developing over the past two seasons. It grew even more when Cooter was promoted to replace former offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi earlier this season.

And it’s now turning Stafford into a sharp, consistent quarterback. In an offseason that will have a ton of questions -- including what will happen to the front office, coaching staff and key players -- one thing that is starting to come into clarity is this: The Lions need to put retaining Cooter on their want-to list.

It could be difficult to do, especially if Detroit ends up firing head coach Jim Caldwell after the season, but the development Stafford has shown under Cooter is obvious. Stafford put together another consistent performance in a 32-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, completing 29 of 37 passes for 301 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

The Lions' offense has been clicking of late under new offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, as Detroit beat San Francisco 32-17 on Sunday. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Yes, some of Stafford’s second-half performances have come against dreadful defenses (San Francisco, Philadelphia and New Orleans), but he’s showing a level of consistency he hadn't been putting together for long stretches recently.

He’s clearly understanding the offense and what Cooter wants out of him. Cooter is Stafford's third offensive coordinator in the past three seasons. While there hasn’t been drastic change in the Lions' offensive scheme from Lombardi to Cooter, forcing Stafford to learn another system in 2016 could be detrimental to his development.

While that isn’t an entire reason to keep a coordinator, Cooter is showing enough that he should be a coordinator somewhere in the NFL next season. For the Lions, it might be wise to consider pushing to keep him, no matter who the head coach ends up being.

What it means: Sunday's win shouldn’t mean much for the Lions. The 49ers are one of the worst teams in the NFL, with a bad defense and inept offense. But considering Lions owner Martha Ford has been quiet with her thinking on what Caldwell and interim general manager Sheldon White would need to do to keep their jobs, another win gets put in that possible column as the Lions clinched an above-.500 second half of the season.

What were they thinking? Penalties abounded for the Lions on the first drive of the second half for San Francisco. Two late-hit calls (one on Travis Lewis, the other on Isa Abdul-Quddus) gave the 49ers 30 yards without doing anything.

One reason to get excited: The Lions ended up finishing .500 at home despite a 1-7 overall start to the season. Oh, and there’s only one game left in the season.

One reason to panic: Draft position is starting to slide in a season where the playoffs were realistically out of the picture by the start of the last month of the season. The Lions might not end up with a top-10 pick.

Fantasy watch: There are a lot of questions of what will happen to the Lions in the offseason, but if Cooter sticks around and works with Stafford, that could bump up Stafford's fantasy draft prospects for 2016. The quarterback had another multi-touchdown day with more than 300 yards and has found consistency under Cooter.

Ouch: The Lions mostly escaped injury-free Sunday against San Francisco.

Big call on special teams: The Lions have had issues on coverage and block units this season, both in terms of penalties and having the appropriate number of men on the field. But the Lions made a big call in the first quarter, faking a punt with a run by Abdul-Quddus on a 4th-and-1 on their own 35-yard line. It gained four yards, kept the drive going and resulted in Detroit’s first touchdown of the game.

Theo Riddick sets one record: Riddick set the team's single-season receiving yardage mark for running backs on Sunday, reaching 668 receiving yards and passing James R. Jones. Jones set the Lions' catches and receiving yards mark for running backs in 1984 with 77 catches for 662 yards. Riddick has 76 catches this season.