It’s official.

The Detroit Lions have hired Jim Caldwell as their new coach.

Caldwell helped the Indianapolis Colts play in the Super Bowl after his debut season in 2009, but was fired two years later after a 2-14 season while Peyton Manning was injured. He was 26-22 in three years in Indianapolis.

The Lions announced the hiring officially on Tuesday afternoon, and have planned a 4 p.m. news conference Wednesday at Ford Field in Detroit.

"On behalf on my entire family, I want to express how thrilled we are with the appointment of Jim Caldwell as our new head coach," Lions owner and chairman William Clay Ford said in a prepared statement. "We believe Jim is the right man to lead our team and deliver a championship to our fans. ...

"We had a very specific plan and profile for our next head coach, and I am convinced that we found that man in Jim Caldwell."

The Lions fired former head coach Jim Schwartz last month.

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