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It's still unclear whether Jim Caldwell will return for a third season with the Lions. But don't rule it out.

(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

ALLEN PARK -- NFL Network reported that "it doesn't look good" for Jim Caldwell. That was 11:07 a.m. Monday.

At virtually the same time, CBSSports.com was reporting that the Detroit Lions were undecided on his fate. And that came on the heels of an earlier CBS report that said Caldwell was safe.

In other words: No one knows anything about what new general manager Bob Quinn will do with Caldwell. Probably because not even Quinn knows what Quinn will do with Caldwell.

As of his news conference Monday afternoon, Quinn had met Caldwell for about 30 seconds. So to say his future "doesn't look good" or whatever is premature.

Perhaps it doesn't look good. Owner Martha Firestone Ford has said all along she would let the new GM make the call on Caldwell, and Quinn hails from a place that features, as he put it, the best coach in the history of the game. Caldwell has a lot going for him, but he certainly is no Bill Belichick.

So in that sense, Caldwell does have a lot to worry about. He is not a great game-day coach. Just ask Aaron Rodgers about that. But Caldwell hasn't been employed for 15 years in this league for nothing. There's a reason he's landed two head coaching jobs.

And what he does well aligns in so many ways with what Quinn says he's looking for in Detroit.

"Our culture will be one of great work ethic and no egos," Quinn proclaimed during his opening statement in Detroit. "We will create a working class attitude throughout the organization. The city of Detroit, the state of Michigan, are known for hard work. The Detroit Lions will have a culture of hard work. The auto industry is based on hard work, and these fans deserve that."

Among Caldwell's chief accomplishments in Detroit has been transforming the locker room culture. He's delivered in a variety of ways, including targeting, along with then-general manager Martin Mayhew, players of high character.

They drafted guys such as Laken Tomlinson, who chose Duke over football bluebloods so that he could one day get into medical school, and Caraun Reid, who attended Princeton. They've signed guys like Zach Zenner, who wants to go to medical school. They've re-signed guys like Rashean Mathis and Dan Orlovsky, who are well-behaved and well-respected presences in the locker room.

And Caldwell set a very specific culuture when it came to ego.

"I have an ego -- we all do. I just don't have an ego problem," he once said, and has repeated in various forms throughout his tenure. And most of his players have behaved similarly.

That should appeal to Quinn, who doesn't know Caldwell personally but intends to before making a hire.

"It's going to be my feeling about if I can work with Coach Caldwell, his philosophy, his beliefs, will they mesh with mine," Quinn said. "As I said in the opening statement, the scouting staff and the coaching staff have to mesh together. So if you can't have that, it's going to be a hard mix. So I really want to get to know Coach Caldwell and see if we can work together."

This is a complicated decision with a lot of variables, no doubt. But according to Quinn, this one -- getting to know Caldwell, and figuring out whether they can work together -- seems to be the most important.

And if that's true, that's another win for Caldwell. Because everyone likes Caldwell. From his subordinates, the players, to his superiors, the GMs, he's gotten along with everyone throughout his career.

He's also a great company man, knowing his place in an organization, and has proven he can change his ways to suit his bosses and players.

Of course, at the end of the day, you have to win football games and Caldwell didn't do that seven out of eight times to open last season. That revealed some serious problems in the way Detroit prepared for the season, and could be a red flag going forward.

But Quinn says he'll be evaluating the totality of Caldwell's body of work, and not just what transpired last season. That, once again, is huge for Caldwell -- if true.

"It isn't just this season," Quinn said. "It's his entire career that we're going to discuss and talk about."

If Quinn is looking for his own version of Bill Belichick, he's not going to get it in Caldwell. They are antithetical to each other. Belichick is a football savant who has no time for worrying about anyone's feelings, and will cut you the moment you don't offer him anything -- and sometimes, before that.

Caldwell, meantime, is below-average when it comes to game-day decisions. But he also has won games with his ability to lead men and set culture. A lot of them.

That might be enough to get him another season in Detroit, where he's 18-14 in two seasons. Or it might not. No one knows, and Quinn seems to be in no hurry to figure out the answer himself.

But be wary of those already penning Caldwell's obituary in Detroit. He might not be Bill Belichick, but based on what Quinn's looking for in a coach, he's still got a shot at returning. Perhaps even a good one.

Even if he doesn't wear a hoodie.

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