This past offseason, on the heels of a surprising 9-7 season that nearly culminated in a playoff run, the Lions rewarded Jim Caldwell with a contract extension. There have been questions about Caldwell's job security for a few years, but that deal theoretically put any concerns to rest. Not so fast, my friends.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Caldwell's extension was actually just a one-year extension and that puts him squarely on the hot seat.

The extension itself was a bizarre thing, because it was not actually revealed that Caldwell inked the deal until September of THIS year. The Lions announced in January of 2017, following the Lions falling short of the playoffs in large part to Matthew Stafford battling injury, that Caldwell would return.

But the contract extension, which was apparently signed in the spring did not become public until September. 

And it's an extension, technically, but perhaps not the type you always want to sign if you're a head coach of an NFL team. The deal extended Caldwell's contract through 2018, according to Rappoport, but then a team option is in play. 

This puts Caldwell firmly in the crosshairs for second-year GM Bob Quinn, whose decision to keep Caldwell last year and then give him an additional contract was considered pretty surprising. Quinn came from New England, and it would hardly be a shock if, should the Lions part ways with Caldwell after this season, they pursued Josh McDaniels as a potential head-coaching candidate. 

News of a lame-duck-ish extension doesn't mean Caldwell is out of course. The Lions are 6-6 and Stafford is once again battling an injury, this time to his throwing hand. If Detroit is capable of closing out the season strong and finishing above .500, it wouldn't be a stunner if Caldwell stuck around.

But this all feels a lot like Jeff Fisher's extension from last year -- the Rams busted out the news of a secret extension signed in the middle of the team struggling. It's a weird way to build confidence in a coach without actually giving said coach a large amount of financial confidence. Caldwell's doing a better job than Fisher, who was canned in the middle of the season, but there is no doubt he is on the hot seat.

In a year where we could ultimately see somewhere in the range of 8-10 openings in the NFL, keep an eye on Detroit as a situation where the coach could be replaced despite winning eight or nine games in 2017.