Lions fire Jim Caldwell after 4 seasons

The Detroit Lions fired head coach Jim Caldwell after four seasons in charge, the team announced Monday.

Caldwell posted a 36-28 regular-season record during his time in Detroit and had only one losing season (7-9 in 2015).

However, despite two playoff appearances, the head coach was unable to break the Lions' winless streak in the postseason, which dates back to 1991.

The Lions remained in the wild-card hunt until late in the 2017 campaign, but an embarrassing 26-17 loss to the struggling Cincinnati Bengals in Week 16 eliminated the club from contention.

General manager Bob Quinn will now seek out Caldwell's replacement. Quinn's ties to the Patriots makes New England defensive coordinator Matt Patricia a prime candidate, and the Lions are expected to interview him for the vacancy, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.