Getty Ex-Lions head coach Jim Caldwell has been floated as a replacement for Matt Nagy.
The only question surrounding the future of Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy seems to be whether he’ll be fired after the regular season or during it.
Nagy entered the year on the hot seat, and with a losing season now a certainty for his 4-9 team, there’s not much the Bears current coach can do other than wait for his walking papers. Thus, numerous names are already being floated as possible replacements.
One of those names is Jim Caldwell, who served as head coach of Chicago’s NFC North rival, the Detroit Lions, from 2014–2017. During his four-year tenure in Detroit, Caldwell did the unthinkable: He managed to have a winning record three of his four seasons, taking the Lions to the playoffs twice. In a move that was widely criticized, the Lions fired Caldwell after a 9-7 season in 2017. They haven’t been to the playoffs since his dismissal.
He hasn’t been in the league for the last two seasons, but one NFL insider thinks Chicago would be an intriguing place for Caldwell to resume his career.
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Jim Caldwell: Coaching History & Resumé
ESPN analyst and draft insider Matt Miller was asked by a fan on Twitter who he saw as a good fit to replace Nagy, and Caldwell was on Miller’s short list:
Caldwell has been a head coach three times: at Wake Forest from 1993-2000, where he had little success, finishing with a 26–63 mark, again in Indianapolis from 2009-2011, when he left with an overall mark of 26-22 over three seasons, and with the Lions, when he amassed an impressive 36-28 mark over four years.
The 66-year-old coach has won two Super Bowls, one of which was against Lovie Smith’s Bears back in 2007: Super Bowl XLI, when he was QB coach with the Colts, and later in Super Bowl XLVII, as offensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens.
Here’s a look at Caldwell’s complete coaching resumé:
- Iowa (1977) — Graduate assistant
- Southern Illinois (1978–1980) — Wide receivers coach
- Northwestern (1981) — Offensive assistant
- Colorado (1982–1984) — Wide receivers coach
- Louisville (1985) — Wide receivers coach
- Penn State (1986–1992) — Quarterbacks coach
- Wake Forest (1993–2000) — Head coach
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2001) — Quarterbacks coach
- Indianapolis Colts (2002–2008) — Assistant head coach & quarterbacks coach
- Indianapolis Colts (2009–2011) — Head coach
- Baltimore Ravens (2012) — Quarterbacks coach
- Baltimore Ravens (2012) — Interim offensive coordinator & quarterbacks coach
- Baltimore Ravens (2013) — Offensive coordinator
- Detroit Lions (2014–2017) — Head coach
- Miami Dolphins (2019) — Assistant head coach & quarterbacks coach
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Would Caldwell Be Solid Replacement for Nagy?
Caldwell is certainly one of the more intriguing options out there when it comes to finding Chicago’s next head coach. Part of his appeal not only lies in his previous successes (he made a winner out of the Lions!), but also in the fact that he’s not a first-time head coach. He’s experienced, and has had relative success in the NFL leading teams — and there aren’t many available head coaches that currently meet that criteria.
Another plus? He has tons of experience when it comes to developing young quarterbacks, which includes his work with Peyton Manning from 2002 to 2008. A solid football mind like Caldwell’s would benefit young signal-caller Justin Fields in a big way.
It remains to be seen if the Bears will go this route, but they could do a lot worse.
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