Jim Caldwell Doesn't Plan on Being an NFL Head Coach Again

Frank Reich has made several strong hires to his coaching staff, but one that will likely get overlooked is the addition of Jim Caldwell, who will serve as a senior assistant.

Caldwell, 68, also interviewed for the Panthers' head coaching job and was actually the first candidate the front office formally met with. After not getting the job, he pivoted to searching for other positions but when he received a call from Reich, he knew immediately it was the perfect role, saying it was "tailor-made" for him.

"It makes sense for a number of different reasons," said Caldwell. "When you say outside of the relationship with Frank, I think that's one of the main reasons. A guy who I've worked with, who I know. He knows me. He knows my strengths, my weaknesses as well and there are many. But also, the organization. As you know, I had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Tepper and Scott [Fitterer] and the rest of the crew that were doing the interview process and felt a really good synergy there as well, so that was also part of it. But the location is great because of the fact that we've kept our home here in North Carolina. So, my kids all became fans. My kids are all around these areas, my grandkids are around the area. So, it makes a lot of sense in that regard."

Caldwell has a long history developing quarterbacks and being an innovator on the offensive side of the ball. His focus, however, won't be confined to just one position or one side. He will in fact, assist Reich and the staff on defense and special teams as well as the offense, overseeing things globally.

"I'm just going to be a little bit of everywhere in terms of the offense, working with the defense some and then also with the special teams unit. I get an opportunity to kind of move around place to place, room to room. Listen. And if there's questions asked of me I can give my advice. But specifics in terms of quarterbacks, we have a lot of really quality quarterback folks in that room, so I don't think they need my two cents."

Since 2019, Caldwell has not served on an NFL coaching staff. He's done some consulting and other things such as being involved in the QB Summit, but he knew he would return to a coaching role at some point. 

"Oftentimes in your career you gotta do resets once in a while, right? Right now, the only thing I'm concerned about is the job that I do here. Right here and now. I'm not worried about the future or anything else. I don't plan on being a head coach from this point forward but my focus is on doing the absolute best job for this organization at this particular point in time."