ALLEN PARK — Reggie Bush feels like he’s a better person having Jim Caldwell as a coach.

“It’s in his approach to the game, it’s in his approach to team meetings,’’ the Detroit Lions running back said. “He treats us as men ...’’

That phrase has been repeated over and over since the players have gotten to know Caldwell.

“For example every time I leave one of his team meetings I feel like I’ve gotten better as a person not just as a player or athlete, but I feel like I’ve learned principles I can apply to life as well,’’ Bush said on Thursday.

“He puts up various quotes. It could be examples from the Bible — he uses a lot of Bible quotes. It could be examples from books, movies and they’re all different things that are directly related to football but also at the same time that you can apply to your life too.’’

Bush said that in his experience it’s pretty rare for a coach to treat the players like men.

“It’s refreshing to have a coach like that, a guy who understands us as men and treats us like men,’’ Bush said. “Also he puts more responsibility on the shoulders of the players which is the way it should be. It forces us to make sure that we’re doing the little things right.’’

Another example Bush used is that Caldwell gave the players Thursday night off with no team meetings. It shows that he wasn’t worried about them getting in any kind of trouble.

“He’s put the plan in place that we all understand,’’ Bush said. “We’re on board for the common goal which is to obviously get to a championship. There’s steps that you’ve got to go by first to get there.’’

(Follow @PaulaPasche on Twitter. Order her book,  “100 Things Lions Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die’’ here. It’s also available at bookstores.)