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Former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell is set to be interviewed by the Jacksonville Jaguars following the departure of Urban Meyer earlier in December.
ESPN’s Jeremey Fowler was the first to report Caldwell’s interview with the Jaguars, adding that the former Detroit Lions and Indianapolis Colts head coach would be “in the mix” for the job.
Caldwell has not coached in the NFL since he was fired by the Lions after the 2017 season, despite leading Detroit to two playoff appearances in his four seasons as head coach. He owns a 62-50 career record as a head coach, including two postseason berths with the Colts during Peyton Manning‘s last three years in Indianapolis.
Caldwell joins a wide range of coaches under consideration to be the Jaguars’ next head coach, including Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and former Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl-winning coach Doug Pederson, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Caldwell has previous experience coaching a few players under contract in Jacksonville for next season, including wide receivers Jamal Agnew and Marvin Jones. Agnew was a rookie on the Lions during Caldwell’s final season in Detroit, earning first-team All-Pro honors as a kick and punt returner. Two of Jones’ years in Detroit overlapped with Caldwell’s tenure as head coach, including a career-best 1,101 receiving yards, also in 2017.
While it’s been almost a decade since Caldwell coached for the Ravens, his time in Baltimore could offer a few clues as to his fit in Jacksonville.
Caldwell’s Tenure in Baltimore
Caldwell spent two season as the offensive coordinator in Baltimore, including the Ravens’ Super Bowl victory in February 2013.
The regular season results of the Ravens offense under Caldwell’s direction aren’t especially impressive; Baltimore finished 10th and 25th in total points and 16th and 29th in total yards in 2012 and 2013.
But Caldwell brought out the best from Super Bowl XLVII MVP Joe Flacco during Baltimore’s 2013 playoff run, with the now-New York Jets quarterback throwing 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions over four games.
Caldwell has a history of developing quarterbacks, dating back to his time in Indianapolis. Before he took over as head coach in 2009, Caldwell was the Colts’ quarterbacks coach for seven years, which included four first-team All-Pro seasons from Peyton Manning.
Caldwell’s experience coaching talented quarterbacks taken with the first overall pick in the NFL Draft could help him in Jacksonville, where the Jaguars are hoping that Trevor Lawrence will be the player to turn the historically-dismal franchise around.
Ravens Defensive Coordinator Also Under Consideration
Current Ravens defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale could be another candidate to take over the head coach job in Jacksonville. One of his former assistants, Joe Cullen, is the Jaguars’ defensive coordinator, and ex-Ravens quarterback Robert Griffin III already endorsed Martindale for the gig.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Urban Meyer “praised the defense and DC Joe Cullen endlessly” on December 19. The Jaguars currently employ a blitz-heavy defense derived from the one created in Baltimore by Martindale, leading Rapoport to mention Martindale as a potential Meyer successor.
“He created that defense, which they could keep, but change out the offense,” wrote Rapoport.
There have been no reports of any requests from the Jaguars to the Ravens to interview Martindale, though their head coach search is expected to accelerate after the end of the regular season.
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