Caldwell staying with Lions — for now

Win or lose Saturday at Seattle, Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell will return for a fourth season in 2017. Beyond that? Not sure.

The unclear news, announced Wednesday morning, does come at a good time for Caldwell and his players.

He doesn’t have to coach Saturday’s playoff game wondering whether his job is on the line at CenturyLink Field and the team can better concentrate on the tough task at hand: Sticking the Seahawks with their first homefield playoff loss in 10 games going back to 1995, also a first in the Pete Carroll era.

Speculation had been that Caldwell might get fired shortly after the Lions’ season concludes. It’s uncommon, but not unheard of for an NFL team to send its head coach packing even after reaching the post-season. Denver did it with John Fox just two years ago.

And Jay Glazer of FOX Sports reported last weekend that Bill O’Brien could get the axe after Year 3 if his Houston Texans, for the second straight year, lose their first playoff game at home — this time against banged-up Oakland.

As for Caldwell, neither the NFL club nor the coach would say whether his contract — due to expire after the 2017 season — has been extended.

The Lions had a strange regular season. The middle section was great: Detroit won eight of nine games from Oct. 9 to Dec. 11 and pulled out more fourth-quarter comebacks in the process (eight) than any other team in NFL history. But equally discouraging bookends — a 1-4 start and an 0-3 finish — cost the Lions an NFC North championship.

That’s why Caldwell’s critics still want him run out of town.

The Lions qualified for the playoffs as a wild card with a 9-7 record. It’s the first time Detroit has reached the post-season twice in a three-year stretch since 1997-99. And Caldwell’s three-season record is 27-21, a winning percentage (.563) better than that of all Lions coaches since 1957.