On Friday a report suggested former Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell had turned down interview requests with both the Minnesota Vikings and Las Vegas Raiders. Early Saturday morning, Caldwell took to Twitter to shoot down those rumors.
It didn’t seem to make much sense. The idea of Caldwell turning down two interview requests so early in the process when both teams still have yet to hire their general manager, who will then hire the head coach.
For Caldwell, he’s likely open to nearly any opportunity he receives to get back into coaching, especially as the top coach on the staff.
Jim Caldwell brings experience to the table
Caldwell stepped away from the game briefly in 2019 after suffering some health complications, but now he’s looking to get back involved. The Jacksonville Jaguars have already interviewed him for their vacant head coach role, where he’d have the chance to keep developing Trevor Lawrence. Ditto for the Chicago Bears, where he’d get to work with the talented, but raw Justin Fields.
From 2009-11, Caldwell was the head coach for the Indianapolis Colts, where he compiled a 26-22 record. He then spent two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens as their quarterbacks coach and eventually got back into his offensive coordinator role, helping them win Super Bowl XLVII.
Caldwell then landed another gig, this time as the Detroit Lions head coach where he went 36-28 in four seasons after starting 11-5 in his first year there.
With a career 62-50 record, and a strong track record working with quarterbacks, Caldwell is expected to be a hot commodity during this hiring cycle. While we previously heard the Vikings and Raiders might be off the table, Caldwell would appear to be excited about the opportunity for working in either organization, we’ll see if he eventually gets an interview with the franchises.
