Caldwell Called Worst Coach In The NFL

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) He hasn't caught many breaks this season, but is Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell the worst coach in the NFL?

Chris Chase at USA Today thinks so, putting Caldwell dead last on his roster. Chase, citing a brief period when he and Caldwell were both at Wake Forest, doesn't articulate why he believes the Lions' coach is the worst, saying only he's one of the nicest men that he's ever had the pleasure of meeting. Is that sarcasm?

WWJ's Tony Ortiz strongly disagrees with the assessment.

"I think it's a ridiculous rating, first of all we don't have any kind of idea how this rating is done, it's just an article that's put out there," he said.

Ortiz said it's an "overreaction to the way the Lions have played and the fact they have a 1-5 record."

Coaches ranked ahead of him on the "worst" list, including Jay Gruden and Ken Whisenhunt, are worse coaches than Caldwell, Ortiz added.

New England's Bill Belichick topped the list, followed by Tom Coughlin of the New York Giants and Seattle's Pete Carroll. Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who grew up in Ann Arbor, was seventh.

Ortiz added Caldwell won't take the article personally.

"He'll look at this, probably get a chuckle out of it, and move on," Ortiz said. "Is Caldwell the worst of the 32 NFL coaches? No, not even close."