Jaguars Head Coach Search: Pros and Cons to Jim Caldwell's Candidacy

Well, here we are again. 

One year after the Jacksonville Jaguars conducted a search for a new head coach to replace Doug Marrone, the team finds itself in the same situation this winter, now looking for a replacement for their replacement. 

Names have been thrown around with vigor as potential candidates to replace Urban Meyer, while several interviews have been officially set up between coaches and the Jaguars' brass.

But who is the best candidate for the Jaguars? What does each of them bring to the table, on and off the field? From Jim Caldwell to Kellen Moore and everyone in between, we examine the pros and cons that come with each coach and their potential impact on the Jaguars.

First up in our review of this year's candidates: Jim Caldwell. 

Background

• 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
• Baltimore Ravens (2013): Offensive coordinator
• Detroit Lions (2014–2017): Head coach
• Miami Dolphins (2019): Assistant head coach & quarterbacks coach

A four-year starter for Iowa's football program as a defensive back, Caldwell got his start as a coach immediately out of college and with the same program he spent his college years with. He would then spent the next several decades as a wide receiver and quarterbacks coach before being hired to lead Wake Forest as its head coach in 1993, being named the first African-American head football coach in ACC history. 

Caldwell spent eight seasons with Wake Forest, compiling a 26–63 record during that span. Caldwell's next stop would be in Tampa Bay, joining Tony Dungy's staff in Dungy's final year with the Buccaneers. Caldwell would then follow Dungy to the Colts, serving as Dungy's right-hand man and successor in waiting for the entirety of Dungy's tenure with the Colts. 

After Dungy retired following the 2008-2009 season, Caldwell was given his first chance as an NFL head coach, leading the Colts to a 14-2 record and a Super Bowl appearance before falling to the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV. Caldwell and the Colts went 10-6 and won the AFC South the very next season until Peyton Manning's neck injury resulted in him missing the entirety of the 2011 season. 

That year, the Colts went 2-14 without their star quarterback and Caldwell found himself fired in favor of Chuck Pagano. Caldwell would find himself as Baltimore's play-caller in a 34-31 victory against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII. 

Following the 2013 season, Caldwell was handed the keys to the Detroit Lions' franchise. Caldwell and the Lions went 11-5 with a Wild Card appearance in his first season before going 7-9, 9-7, and 9-7 in the following years. Caldwell was fired after his fourth season with the Lions, ending a tenure that saw him go 36-28 and record two playoff appearances. 

Caldwell joined the Miami Dolphins as the team's assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach in Brian Flores' first season, but he took a medical leave of absence in June before the season began. Since then, Caldwell hasn't coached but he has expressed positivity in his health status and a desire to coach once again.

"Almost back to fighting weight, you know. I feel good," Caldwell said on Glover Quinn's podcast in 2020. "I had an issue that popped up that really was something that could be corrected without surgery. Just a matter of getting a little bit more rest and watching my diet and that kind of thing and exercise, as I've always done, which you well know. I constantly exercise but the interesting thing was I had to change my diet quite a bit."

Pros

The biggest thing Caldwell would bring to the table for the Jaguars is clear -- he would give the Jaguars credibility in leadership, something the franchise has sorely lacked in recent years. Considering this type of credibility and integrity is something Urban Meyer sorely lacked and ultimately even led to his downfall, there are few selling points better than this one.

While there have been some criticisms about the end of Caldwell's tenure in Detroit and his ultimate ceiling, there are zero criticisms when it comes to Caldwell the man. While Meyer was seen as a poor leader by many due to his inability to be accountable, Caldwell is the opposite. He takes the punches on the chin for his players and coaches and twice has had to take the fall for failures that weren't truly his fault. It isn't hard to see why he has been able to gain such a ferocious following of supporters in both coaching circles and locker rooms since. 

In a time in which the Jaguars have been a non-stop drama franchise, Caldwell would be a calming and soothing presence that could quiet the waters and simply help the Jaguars grow up. That is the kind of leader and coach he has been known to be, and that just turns out to be the kind of leader the Jaguars need following Meyer's failures.