Detroit Lions fire GM, president; is Coach Jim Caldwell next?

Detroit Lions president Tom Lewand and general manager Martin Mayhew were fired Thursday and the fate of head coach Jim Caldwell is being determined.

The Ford Family shifted into overhaul mode by parting with the top two decision-makers in the football operation. Lewand and Mayhew hired Caldwell before last season, when the Lions went 11-5 and lost at Dallas in the first round of the playoffs.

After a 1-6 start, the Lions fired three offensive coaches before heading to London for their Week 8 game against the Chiefs. That game at Wembley Stadium turned out to be an embarrassing 45-10 defeat that spun the Lions into their bye week at 1-7.

ESPN and the Detroit News reported Caldwell was meeting with ownership Thursday. It's possible he could still be retained and had the support of players in the locker room. Sparing his fate would seemingly be a short-term decision given the team's front office was shredded and a new president or general manager will want to hire his own coach.

"Our guys their hearts are in the right place," Caldwell said Wednesday. "Their efforts in the right place. We don't have any difficulty with that."

The Lions, who have already changed offensive coordinator and offensive line coaches, enter the midway point of the season ranking 27th in defense and 26th in offense. They're allowing more points, 30.6 per game, than any other team, and scoring more points, 18.6 per game, than just two other teams.

Despite the struggles, the Lions plan to keep trying as hard as they can to win. But with a road game in Green Bay, where they haven't won since 1991, coming after the bye, and coming off a performance in which the defense looking slow and confused, it's hard to imagine they'll win many of their eight remaining games.

"If you've been in this league awhile, you understand it's a week-to-week business," quarterback Matthew Stafford said. "You can't let great success over a period of time, or great failure, whatever it is, over a period of time, wear you down or build you up too high. You've just got to stay even-keeled, and that's what we do."