Former Lions head coach Jim Caldwell may get another shot to be a head coach, and he reportedly will have at least one interview.
Through the Matt Patricia era, it became clear the Detroit Lions made a mistake in firing Jim Caldwell. The former Lions head coach, who had a 36-28 record over four seasons with three winning records and two playoff appearances, has started to surface as a candidate for the upcoming hiring cycle.
Caldwell seems like the type of steady hand the Jacksonville Jaguars could use as they leave behind the brief and dysfunctional Urban Meyer era. According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, along with former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson, Caldwell is on the Jaguars’ radar.
The Jacksonville Jaguars intend to begin conducting their head coaching search next week, according to sources, with former NFL head coaches Doug Pederson and Jim Caldwell among the men they seek to speak with.
The Jaguars will surely conduct a wide search for their next head coach, with the development of quarterback Trevor Lawrence the No. 1 thing that has to be gotten right. Caldwell has some history working with quarterbacks, and in a notable case getting the best out of one as a play-caller.
Jim Caldwell has a solid resume working with quarterbacks
Over his four seasons in Detroit, Caldwell of course worked with Matthew Stafford. From 2002-2010, he worked as Peyton Manning’s quarterbacks coach and then head coach with the Indianapolis Colts (Manning missed Caldwell’s final season as Colts’ head coach). As much as Manning didn’t need to guided in terms of calling plays and knowing the offense, Caldwell’s work as his position coach shouldn’t be ignored.
But Caldwell’s best work with a quarterback came in Baltimore. He took over as offensive coordinator late in the 2012 season after serving as the Ravens’ quarterbacks coach that year, and helped guide Joe Flacco on a late run that culminated in a Super Bowl. Flacco got paid big-time off that run too, as the Ravens pretty much had to pony up, and the rest of his career speaks to how much of an outlier that great run was.
An interview with the Jaguars, which can come at any time since he is not working in the NFL, will probably not be Caldwell’s only as teams survey options to be their next head coach. The questions are if he will get a serious look or be hired, in favor of candidates that have more cache’ attached to their names.